futurition of an event: as, "This is as extraordinary a thing as one shall ever hear of."

SECTION VIII.

The conjugation of regular Verbs.

ACTIVE.

VERBS Active are called Regular, when they form their imperfect tense of the indicative mood, and their perfect participle, by adding to the verb ed, or d only when the verb ends in e: as,

A Regular Active Verb is conjugated in the following manner:

To LOVE.

Indicative Mood.

PRESENT TENSE.

SINGULAR..

1. I love.*

2. Thou lovest.

PLURAL.

1. We love.

2. Ye or you love.

3. He, she, or it, loveth, or loves.† 3. They love.

In the present and imperfect tenses we use a different form of the verb, when we mean to express energy and positiveness: as, "I do love; thou dost love; he does love; I did love, thou didst love; he did love.

+ Dr Coote justly observes that this termination of the third person singular in eth, is now very rarely used, es, or s being substituted for it. This practice is disapproved by Addison, as "multiplying a letter which was before too frequent in the English tongue; and adding to that hissing in our language which is taken so much notice of by foreigners."Notwithstanding this reproach, it has been aptly observed, that no passage in English prose or verse, exhibits, within an equal space, such a repetition of the sibilant letter, as the following quotation from Horace:

Res Italas armis tuteris, moribus ornes,
Legibus emendes.

Those tenses are called simple tenses, which are formed of the principal, without an auxiliary verb: as, "I love, I loved." The compound tenses are such as cannot be formed without an auxiliary verb: as, "I have loved; I hd loved; I shall or will love; I may love; I may be loved; I may have been loved," &c. These compounds are, however, to be considered as only different forms of the same verb.

The remaining tenses of this mood, are, in general, similar to the correspondent tenses of the indicative mood. pages 76, 94, 95.

See

It may be of use to the scholar, to remark in this place, that though only the conjunction if is affixed to the verb, any other conjunction proper for the subjunctive mood, may, with equal propriety, be occasionally annexed. The instance given is sufficient to explain the subject: more would be tedious, and tend to embarrass the learner.

The active verb may be conjugated differently, by adding its present or active participle to the auxiliary verb to be, through all its moods and tenses: as, instead of, "I teach, thou teachest, he teaches," &c.; we may say, "I am teaching, thou art teaching, he is teaching," &c.: and instead of, "I taught," &c. "I was teaching," &c.: and so on through all the variations of the auxiliary. This mode of conjugation, has, on particular occasions, a peculiar propriety; and contributes to the harmony and precision of the language. These forms of expression are adapted to particular acts, not to general habits or affections of the mind. They are very frequently applied to neuter verbs: as, "I am musing; he is sleeping."

On the propriety of denominating this the present tense of the subjunctive mood, see the note near the end of the 19th Rule.

As the participle, in this mode of conjugation. performs the office of a verb through all the moods and teases; and as it implies the idea of time, and governs the objective case of

Some grammarians apply, what is called the conjunctive termination, to the persons of the principal verb, and to its auxiliaries, through all the tenses of the subjunctive mood. But this is certainly contrary to the practice of good writers. Johnson applies this termination to the present and perfect tenses only. Lowth restricts it entirely to the present tense: and priestly confines it to the present and imperfect tenses. This difference of opinion amongst grammarians of such eminence, may have contributed to that diversity of practice, so observable in the use of the subjunctive mood. Uniformity in this point is highly desirable. It would materially assist both teachers and learners; and would constitute a considerable improvement in our language. On this subject we adopt the opinion of Dr. Lowth; and conceive we are fully warranted by his authority, and that of the most correct and elegant writers, in limiting the conjunctive termination of the principal verb, to the second and third persons singular of the pre

sent tense.

Grammarians have not only differed in opinion, respecting the extent and variations of the subjunctive mood; but a few of them have even doubted the existence of such a mood in the English language. These writers assert that the verb has no variation from the indicative; and that a conjunction added to the verb, gives it no title to become a distinct mood; or, at most, no better than it would have if any other particle were joined to it. To these observations it may be replied; 1st. It is evident, on inspection, that, in the subjunctive mood, the present tense of the principal verbs, the present and imperfect tenses of the verb to be, and the second and third persons, in both numbers, of the second future tense of all verbs ;* require a variation from the forms which those tenses have in the indicative mood. So much difference in the form of the verb, would warrant a correspondent distinction of mood, though the remaining parts of the subjunctive were, in all respects, similar to those of the indicative. In other languages, a principle of this nature has been admitted, both in the conjugation of verbs, and the declension of nouns. 2d. There appears to be as much propriety in giving a conjunction the power of assisting to form the subjunctive mood, as there is in allowing the particle to to have an effect in the formation of the infinitive mood.†

Bouns and pronouns, in the same manner as verbs do; is it not manifest that it is a speries or form of the verb, and that it cannot be properly considered as a distinct part of sperch?

*We think it has been proved, that the auxiliary is a constituent part of the verb to which it relates; that the principal and its auxiliary form but one verb.

+ Conjunctions have an influence on the mood of the following verb. Conjunctions have sometimes a government of moods.

Dr Beattie,

Dr. Lowth,