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.

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 graminarians, 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. But, supposing the phrases to be exactly alike in sense, the reasoning is not conclusive. 1st. In the latter phrase, 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 sen

Let, as a principal verb, has lettest and letteth; but as a helping verb, it admits of no variation.

tence, "I desire vour 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.”

We shall not pursue this subject any further, as the reader must be satisfied, that only the word desire, in the equivalent sentence, implies affirmation; and that one phrase may, in sense, be equivalent to another, though its grammatical nature is essen. tially different.

To verbs belong NUMBER, PERSON, MOOD, and TENSE

SECTION II. Of Number and Person.

Verbs have two numbers, the Singular and the Plural, as, "I run, we run," &c.

In each number there are three persons; as,

Thus the verb, in some parts of it, varies its endings, to express, or agree with, different persons of the same number: as, "I love, thou lovest; he loveth, or loves:" and also to express different numbers of the same person: as, "thou lovest, ye love; he loveth, they love." In the plural number of the verb, there is no variation of ending to express the different persons; and the verb, in the three persons plural, is the same as it is in the first person singular. Yet this scanty provision of terminations is sufficient for all the purposes of discourse, and no ambiguity. arises from it: the verb being always attended, either with the noun expressing the subject acting or acted upon, or with the pronoun representing it. For this reason, the plural termination in en, they loven, they weren, formerly in use, was laid aside as unnecessary, and has long been obsolete.

SECTION III. Of Moods and Participles.

Mood or Mode is a particular form of the verb, showing the manner in which the being, action, or passion, is represented.

The nature of a mood may be more intelligibly explained to the scholar, by observing, that it consists in the change which the verb undergoes, to signify various intentions of the mind, and various modifications and circumstances of action: which explanation, if compared with the following account and uses of the different moods, will be found to agree with and illustrate them

There are five moods of verbs, the INDICATIVE, the IMPERATIVE, the POTENTIAL, the SUBJUNCTIVE, and the IN

FINITIVE.

The Indicative Mood simply indicates or declares a thing: as, "He loves, he is loved:" or it asks a question : as, Does he love?" "Is he loved?"

The Imperative Mood is used for commanding, exhorting, entreating, or permitting; as, "Depart thou; mind ye; let us stay; go in peace."

Though this mood derives its name from its intimation of command, it is used on occasions of a very opposite nature, even In the humblest supplications of an inferior being to one who is infinitely his superior: as, "Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses."

The Potential Mood implies possibility or liberty, power will, or obligation: as, "It may rain; he may go or stay, I can ride; he would walk; they should learn."

The Subjunctive Mood represents a thing under a condition, motive, wish, supposition, &c.; and is preceded by a conjunction, expressed or understood, and attended by another verb: as, "I will respect him, though he chide me;"Were he good, he would be happy;" that is, "if he were good."-See note 8 to Rule 19.

The Infinitive Mood expresses a thing in a general and unlimited manner, without any distinction of number or person; as," to act, to speak, to be feared."

The participle is a certain form of the verb, and derives its name from its participating, not only of the properties of a verb, but also of those of an adjective: as, "I am desirous of knowing him ;"" admired and applauded, he became vain;"" Having finished his work, he submitted it," &c.

There are three participles, the Present or Active, the Perfect or Passive, and the Compound Perfect: as loving, loved, having loved."-See p. 72.

Agreeably to the general practice of grammarians, we have represented the present participle, as active; and the past, as passive: but they are not uniformly so: the present is sometimes passive; and the past is frequently active. Thus, "The youth was consuming by a slow malady;" "The Indian was burning by the cruelty of his enemies;" appear to be instances of the present participle being used passively. "He has instructed me;" I have gratefully de indness;" are examples of the

past participle being applied in an active sense. We may also observe, that the present participle is sometimes associated with the past and future tenses of the verb; and the past participle connected with the present and future tenses.--' -The most unexcep tionable distinction which grammarians make between the parti ciples, is, that the one points to the continuation of the action, passion, or state, denoted by the verb; and the other, to the completion of it. Thus, the present participle signifies imperfect action, or action begun and not ended: as, "I am writing a letter." The past participle signifies action perfected, or finished: as, "I have written a letter;" "The letter is written."*

The participle is distinguished from the adjective, by the former's expressing the idea of time, and the latter's denoting only a quality. The phrases, "loving to give as well as to receive," moving in haste," "heated with liquor," contain participles giving the idea of time; but the epithets contained in the expressions, a loving child,' a moving spectacle,” “a heated iragination," mark simply the qualities referred to, without any regard to time; and may properly be called participial adjectives.

99.66

Participles not only convey the notion of time; but they also signify actions, and govern the cases of nouns and pronouns, in the same manner as verbs do; and therefore should be comprehended in the general name of verbs, That they are mere modes of the verb, is manifest, if our definition of a verb be admitted for they signify being, doing, or suffering, with the designation of time superadded. But if the essence of the verb be made to consist in affirmation or assertion, not only the participle will be excluded from its place in the verb, but the infinitive itself also; which certain ancient grammarians of great autho rity held to be alone the genuine verb, simple and unconnected with persons and circumstances.

The following phrases, even when considered in themselves, show that participles include the idea of time: "The letter being written, or having been written ;"" Charles being writing, having written, or having been writing." But when arranged in an entire sentence, which they must be to make a complete sense, they show it still more evidently: as, “Charles having written the letter, sealed and despatched it."-The participle does indeed associate with different tenses of the verb: as, "I am writing," "I was writing, "I shall be writing:" but this forms no just objection to its denoting time. If the time of it is often relative time, this circumstance, far from disproving, supports our position. See observations un, der Rule 13 of Syntax.

Participles sometimes perform the office of substantives, and

When this participle is joined to the verb to have, it is called perfect; when It is joined to the verb to be, or understood with it, it is denominated passive. From the very nature of time, an action may be present now, it may have been present formerly, or it may be present at some future period-yet who ever supposed, that the present of the indicative denotes no time? Encyclopædia Britannica

are used as such; as in the following instances: "The beginning," "a good understanding ;” "excellent writing;" "The chancellor's being attached to the king secured his crown:" "The general's having failed in this enterprise occasioned his disgrace;" "John's having been writing a long time had wearied him."

That the words in italics of the three latter examples, perform the office of substantives, and may be considered as such, will be evident, if we reflect, that the first of them has exactly the same meaning and construction as, "The chancellor's attachment to the king secured his crown ;" and that the other examples will bear a similar construction. The words, being attached, govern the word chancellor's in the possessive case, in the one instance, as clearly as attachment governs it in that case, in the other: and it is only substantives, or words and phrases which operate as substantives, that govern the genitive or possessive case.

The following sentence is not precisely the same as the above, either in sense or construction, though, except the genitive case, the words are the same; "The chancellor, being attached to the king, secured his crown." In the former, the words, being attached, form the nominative case to the verb, and are stated as the cause of the effect; in the latter, they are not the nominative case, and make only a circumstance to chancellor, which is the proper nominative. It may not be improper to add another form of the sentence, by which the learner may better understand the peculiar nature and form of each of these modes of expression: "The chancellor being attached to the king, his crown was secured." This constitutes what is properly called, the Case Absolute.

SECTION IV.

Remarks on the Potential Mood.

That the Potential Mood should be separated from the subjunctive, is evident, from the intricacy and confusion which are produced by their being blended together, and from the distinct nature of the two moods; the former of which may be expressed without any condition, supposition, &c. as will appear from the following instances: "They might have done better;" "We may always act uprightly;" "He was generous, and would not take revenge" "We should resist the allurements of vice;" "I could formerly indulge myself in things, of which I cannot now think but with pain."

Some grammarians have supposed that the Potential Mood, as distinguished above from the Subjunctive, coincides with the Indicative, But as the latter "simply indicates or declares a thing," it is manifest that the former, which modifies the declaration, and introduces an idea materially distinct from it, must be considerably different. "I can walk," "I should walk," appear to be so essentially distinct from the simplicity of, "I walk," "I walked," as to warrant a correspondent distinction of moods, The Imperative and Infinitive Moods, which are allowed to re