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not express apparent action, but a condition of being; that is, it represents John in a particular state of existence; therefore sits is a neuter verb. In speaking of the neuter gender of nouns, I in formed you, that neuter means neither; from which it follows, that neuter gender implies neither gender; that is, neither masculine nor feminine. Hence, by an easy transition of thought, you learn, that neuter, when applied to verbs, means neither of the other two classes; that is, a neuter verb is one which is neither active nor passive. In these examples, The man standsThe lady lives-The child sleeps-The world exists—the words stands, lives, sleeps, and exists, are neuter verbs; and the nouns, man, lady, child, and world, are all in the nominative case, because each is the subject of a verb. Thus you perceive, that when a noun is in the nominative case to an active verb, it is the actor; and when it is nominative to a neuter verb, it is not an actor, but the subject of the verb.

Some neuter verbs express being in general; as, The man 18; Kingdoms exist. Others express being in some particular state; as, The man stands, sits, lies, or hangs.

I will now give you two signs, which will enable you to distinguish the verb from other parts of speech, when you cannot tell it by its signification. Any word that will make sense with to before it, is a verb. Thus, to run, to write, to smile, to sing, to hear, to ponder, to live, to breathe, are verbs. Or, any word that will conjugate, is a verb. Thus, I run, thou runnest, he runs; I write, thou writest, he writes; I smile, &c. But the words, boy, lady, child, and world, will not make sense with to prefixed--to boy, to lady, to world, is nonsense. Neither will

logical field, by taking a bolder stand than any of his predecessors. His view of the verb is novel, and ingeniously supported. The following is the substance of his theory

OF THE VERB.

A VERB is a word which expresses action; as, Man exists Trees grow; Waters flow; Mountains stand; I am.

All verbs are active, and have one object or more than one, expressed ar implied. The pillar stands; that is, it keeps itself in an erect or standing posture ; it upholds or sustains itself in that position. They are; i. e. they air themselves, or breathe air; they inspirit, vivify, or uphold themselves by inhaling air.

Many verbs whose objects are seldom expressed, always have a personal or verbal one implied. The clouds move; i. e. move themselves along. The troops marched twenty miles a day; i. e. marched themselves. The moon shines:-The moon shines or sheds a shining, sheen, lustre, or brightness. The sparrow flies :-flies or takes a flight. Talkers talk or speak words or talk; Walkers walk walkings or walks; The rain rains rain; Sitters sit or hold sittings or sessions.

To prove that there is no such thing as a neuter verb, the following ap pear to be the strongest arguments adduced.

they conjugate-I lady, thou ladiest, &c. is worse than nonsense. Hence you perceive, that these words are not verbs. There are some exceptions to these rules, for verbs are sometimes used as nouns. This will be explained by and by.

To verbs belong number, person, mood, and tense. At present I shall speak only of the number and person of verbs; but hereafter I will give you a full explanation of all their properties. And permit me to inform you, that I shall not lead you into the intricacies of the science, until, by gradual and easy progressions, you are enabled to comprehend the principles involved in them. Only such principles will be elucidated, as you are prepared to understand at the time they are unfolded before you. You must not be too anxious to get along rapidly; but endeavour to become thoroughly acquainted with one principle, before you undertake another, This lecture will qualify you for the next.

NUMBER AND PERSON OF VERBS. You recollect, that the nominative is the actor or subject, and the active verb is the action performed by the nominative. By this you perceive, that a yery intimate connexion or relation exists between the nominative case and the verb. If, therefore, only one creature or thing acts, only one action, at the same instant, can be done; as, The girl writes. The nominative girl is here of the singular number, because it signifies but one person; and the verb writes de notes but one action, which the girl performs; therefore the verb writes is of the singular number, agreeing with its nominative girl. When the nominative case is plural, the verb must be plural; as, girls write. Take notice, the singular verb ends in s,

1. No portion of matter is ever in a state of perfect quiescence; but the component parts of every thing are at all times "influenced by different, active principles, tending to produce change." Hence, it follows, that no being or thing can be represented in a neuter or non-acting state.

This argument supposes the essential character of the verb to be identified with the primary laws of action, as unfolded by the principles of physical science. The correctness of this position may be doubted; but if it can be clearly demonstrated, that every particle of matter is always in motion, it does not, by any means, follow, that we cannot speak of things in a state of quiescence. What is false in fact may be correct in grammar. The point contested, is not whether things always act, but whether, when we assert or affirm something respecting them, we always represent them as acting.

2. Verbs were originally used to express the motions or changes of things which produced obvious actions, and, by an easy transition, were afterwards applied, in the same way, to things whose actions were not apparent. This assumption is untenable, and altogether gratuitous.

3. Verbs called neuter are used in the imperative mood; and, as this mood commands some one to do something, any verb which adopts it, must be ac tive. Thus, in the common place phrases, "Be there quickly; Stand out c my way; Sit or lie farther,"

but the noun is generally plural when it ends in s; thus, The girl writes the girls write.

Person, strictly speaking, is a quality that belongs not to verbs, but to nouns and pronouns. We say, however, that the verb must agree with its nominative in person, as well as in number; that is, the verb must be spelled and spoken in such a manner as to correspond with the first, second, or third person of the noun or pronoun which is its nominative.

I will now show you how the verb is varied in order to agree with its nominative in number and person. I, Thou, He, She It; We, Ye or You, They, are personal pronouns. I is of the first person, and singular number; Thou is second per. sing. ; He, She, or It, is third per. sing.; We is first per. plural; Ye or You is second per. plural; They is third per. plural. These pronouns are the representatives of nouns, and perform the same office that the nouns would for which they stand. When placed before the verb, they are, therefore, the nominatives to the verb. Notice, particularly, the different variations or endings of the verb, as it is thus conjugated in the

INDICATIVE MOOD, PRESENT TENSE.

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This display of the verb shows you, that whenever it ends in est, it is of the second person singular; but when the verb ends

It is admitted that these verbs are here employed in an active sense; but it is certain, that they are not used according to their proper, literal meaning. When I tell a man, literally, to stand, sit, or lie, by moving he would disobey me; but when I say, "Stand out of my way," I employ the neuter verb stand, instead of the active verb move or go, and in a correspondent sense. My meaning is, Move yourself out of my way; or take your stand somewhere else. This, however, does not prove that stand is properly used. If we choose to overstep the bounds of custom, we can employ any word in the language as an active-transitive verb. Be, sit, and lie, may be explained in the same manner.

4. Neuter verbs are used in connexion with adverbs which express the manner of action. They must, therefore, be considered active verbs. The child sleeps soundly; He sits genteelly; They live contentedly and happily together.

The class of verbs that are never employed as active, is small. By using adverbs in connexion with verbs, we can fairly prove that some verbs are no! active. It is incorrect to say, I am happily; They were peacefully; She remains quietly; The fields appear greenly. These verbs in their common acceptation, do not express action; for which reason we say, I am happy; They were peaceful; &e. But in the expressions, The child sleeps sounily;

in s, or eth, it is of the third person singular. Walkest, ridest, standest, are of the second person singular; and walks or walketh rides or rideth, stands or standeth, are of the third person singular.

I have told you, that when the nominative is singular number the verb must be; when the nominative is plural, the verb must be; and when the nominative is first, second, or third person, the verb must be of the same person. If you look again at the foregoing conjugation of walk, you will notice that the verb varies its endings in the singular, in order to agree in form with the first, second, and third person of its nominative; but in the plural it does not vary its endings from the first person singular. The verb, however, agrees in sense with its nominative in the plural, as well as in the singular. Exercise a little mind, and you will perceive that agreement and government in language do not consist merely in the form of words. Now, is it not clear, that when I say, I walk, the verb walk is singular, because it expresses but one action? And when I say, Two men walk, is it not equally apparent, that walk is plural, because it expresses two actions? In the sentence, Ten men walk, the verb walk denotes ten actions, for there are ten actors. Common sense teaches you, that there must be as many actions as there are actors; and that the verb, when it has no form or ending to show it, is as strictly plural, as when it has. So, in the phrase, We walk, the verb walk is first person, because it expresses the actions performed by the speakers: Ye or you walk, the verb is second person, denoting the actions of the persons spoken to, third person, They walk. The verb, then, when correctly written,

She sits gracefully; They live happily and sleeps, sits, and live, in an active sense. say, They live happy and contented.

contentedly; we employ the verbs When no action is intended, we

If, on scientifick principles, it can be proved that those verbs generally denominated neuter, originally expressed action, their present, accepted meaning will still oppose the theory, for the generality of mankind do not attach to them the idea of action.

Thus I have endeavoured to present a brief but impartial abstract of the modern theory of the verb, leaving it with the reader to estimate it according to its value.

To give a satisfactory definition of the verb, or such a one as shall be found scientifically correct and unexceptionable, has hitherto baffled the skill, and transcended the learning, of our philosophical writers. If its essential qna lity as is generally supposed, is made to consist in expressing affirmation, it remains still to be defined when a verb expresses affirmation. In English, and in other languages, words appropriated to express affirmation, are often used without any such force; our idea of affirmation, in such instances, being the mere inference of custom.

In the sentence," Think, love, and hate, denote moral actions," the words think, love, and hate, are nouns, because they are mere names of actions. So, when I say, is an irregular verb," the word write is e

"John, write

always agrees, in sense, with its nominative in number and person.

At present you are learning two parts of speech, neither of which can be understood without a knowledge of the other. It therefore becomes necessary to explain them both in the same lecture. You have been already informed, that nouns have three cases; the nominative, the possessive, and the objective:

POSSESSIVE CASE. The possessive case denotes the possessor of something; as, This is John's horse.

This expression implies, that John is the owner or possessor of the horse; and, that horse is the property which he possesses. When I say, These are the men's, and those, the boys' hats, the two words, "boys' hats," plainly convey the idea, if they have any meaning at all, that the boys own or possess the hats. "Samuel Badger sells boys' hats." Who owns the hats? Mr. Badger. How is that fact ascertained? Not by the words. "boys' hats," which, taken by themselves, imply, not that they are Mr. Badger's hats, nor that they are for boys, but that they are hats of, or belonging to, or possessed by boys. But we infer from the words connected with the phrase, "boys' hats," that the boys are not yet, as the phrase literally denotes, in the actual posses. sion of the hats. The possession is anticipated.

In the phrases, fine hats, coarse hats, high-crowned hats, broadbrimmed hats, woollen, new, ten, some, these, many hats, the words in italicks, are adjectives, because they restrict, qualify, or define the term hats; but the term boys' does not describe or limit the meaning of hats. Boys', therefore, is not, as some suppose, an adjective.

"The slave's master." Does the slave possess the master? Yes. The slave has a master. If he has him, then, he possesses him ;-he sustains that relation to him which we call possession.

noun; but when I say, "John, write your copy," write is called a verb. Why is this word considered a noun in one construction, and a verb in the other, when both constructions, until you pass beyond the word write, are exactly alike? If write does not express action in the former sentence, neither does it in the latter, for, in both, it is introduced in the same manner. On scientifick principles, write must be considered a noun in the latter sentence, for it does not express action, or make an affirmation; but it merely names the action which I wish John to perform, and affirmation is the inferential meaning.

The verb in the infinitive, as well as in the imperative mood, is divested of its affirmative or verbal force. In both these moods, it is always presented in its noun-state.

If, after dinner I say to a servant, "Wine," he infers, that I wish him to

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