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.

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

* Let, as a principal verb, has lettest and letteth; but as a help. ing verb it admits of 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. 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

sentence, "I desire your departure.'

The words "De

part 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 équivaThe sulent to "I desire you to depart in an instant." perlative degree in this sentence, "Of all acquirements virtue is the most valuable," may pass for the com66 Virparative, because it conveys the same sentiment as tue 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 essentially different.

To Verbs belong NUMBER, PERSON, MOOD, and TENSE.

SECT. 2. 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,

as,

Plural.
We love.

Ye or you love.
They love.

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: In the "thou lovest, ye love; he loveth, they love." 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 terminaLions is sufficient for all the purposes of discourse, and no ambiguity arises from it: the verb always attended,

G

tion which grammarians make between the participles 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: "I am writing a letter." The past participle signifies action perfected, or finished: as, "I have written a letter;" ;""The letter is written.'

as,

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," "moving spectacle," "a heated imagination," mark simply the qualities referred to, without any regard to time; and may properly be called participial adjectives.

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 authority 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,

*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.

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 under Rule x111th of Syntax.

Participles sometimes perform the office of substantives, and 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 enterprize 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 in-stance, 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

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.