TABLE V. Of VERBS.

HAT is a Verb?

Mafter. WH
WHAT

Scholar. A Verb is a part of speech that denotes being, doing, fuffering; as I have, I love, I am loved. M. How many forts of Verbs are there?

S. Three; Active, Paffive, and Neuter.

M. What do you mean by an active Verb?

S. An active Verb is a word that denotes an Action, and in fuch a manner that the perfon or thing it acts upon, follows the Verb: thus, I love her, she loves me, we love them. M. What is a passive Verb?

S. A paffive Verb denotes fuffering, or the impreffion that perfons or things receive from that by which they are acted upon, as John is burned.

M. Has the English tongue any paffive Verbs?

S. Some fay it has none; because it has no fingle word that expreffes fuffering.

M. How is then the paffive Verb formed?

S. By the Participle Paffive, & the help of these two small words am, and be, which are called auxiliary or helping Verbs. M. What is a neuter Verb?

as

S. A neuter Verbis sometimes active and sometimes passive, run, I am fick.

I

M. Is there no other fort of Verbs?

S. There is another, called imperfonal Verbs, because they are used only in the third perfon fingular, as, it rains, it hails, it fnows.

M. How many things belong to Verbs?

S. Three, viz. Perfon, Mood, and Time or Tenfe.
Of the PERSONS of VERBS.

M. How many Perfons belong to a Verb?
S. Three Singular and three Plural.

As

I, thou, (or you) he, she, or it, are Singular.
We, ye, (or you) and they, are Plural.
M. How do you call the ifferent Perfons ?
S. I is called the firft Perfon Singular.

Thou or you, the fecond Perfon Singular.
He, Jhe, or it, the third Perfon Singular.
We, the firft Perfon Plural.

Ye, or you, the second Perfon Plural.
They, the third Perfon Plural.

M. Does the Verb always remain the fame in every Person? S. No; it differs from itself in the second Perfon Singular, & in the third Person Singular; but is the fame in all the reft. M. Give me an example of the Verb to love, throughout all the Persons?

S. The Verb to love runs thus:

First Perfon

Second Perfon

Third Perfou

First Perfon

Second Perfon

Third Perfon

I love, or do love.

Thou loveft, or doft love.

He or she loveth, loves, or doth love.
We love, or do love.

Ye, or you love, or do love.
They love, or do love.

Or, fuppofe the Verb to burn:

I burn; thou burnest; he or she burns.
We burn; ye or you burn; they burn.

Here you fee the Verb love and burn remain the fame in all the Perfons, except the second & third Person Singular; and then it is loveft, burneft; loveth or loves, burneth or burns. M. How is a Verb known from all other parts of speech? S. Those words are Verbs before which you may, with good fenfe, place any perfonal Pronoun, or the word to; as, I walk, he runs, we fing, they rejoice; or to walk, to fing, to run, to rejoice.

Of Moods.

M. What do you mean by a Mood?

S. Moods in Grammar fignify the various ways of expreffing the intentions of the mind.

M. How many Moods are there in Grammar ?

S. The English, strictly speaking, have no Mood; but the Latin, and feveral other languages, have fix different Moods, which they ufe in the formation or conjugation of Verbs; and in which the Verb itself has a different termination or ending in every Person, and almost in every Tense belonging thereto.

M. What do they call these Moods?

S. They are as follow:-1. The Indicative.-2. The Imperative.-3. The Optative.-4. The Potential-5. The Conjunctive. And 6. The Infinitive Mood.

M. How is the Indicative Mood known?

S. The Indicative Mood fhews, sets forth, or declares the thing itself affirmatively, as, I run, I love; or interrogatively, or by way of queftion, as, do I love? do I run? M. What is the Imperative Mood?

S. The Imperative Mood commands or forbids; as, run thou, or you, let him run, run ye, let them run.

M. What do you mean by the Optative Mood?

S. The Optative Mood is known by expreffions of defiring or wishing; as, I wish I could eat, I wish I could enjoy it. M. How may I know the Potential Mood?

. S. The Potential Mood fhews, or fets forth, the power of the person or thing acting; or else the want of fuch power;

and is further expreffed or known by the words, can, may, might, could, would, fhould, or ought, as, I can go in and out when I please. He would have done it, but his

mafter could not spare him.

M. How is the Conjunctive, Subjunctive, or Conditional Mood known?

S. The Conjunctive Mood is known by having always a Conjunction before it, fuch as, if, though, that, &c. as, I hould have done it, if he and my uncle had confented. I muft go, though it rain. Take care that he gets his leffon. Or, if you could perform your promife, I should be happy. M. How fhall I know the Infinitive Mood?

S. 'The Infinitive Mood affirms nothing, but only expreffes the fimple meaning of the Verb, with the word to before it; as thus, to love, to run, to walk, to fight, to conquer; thefe are Verbs in the Infinative Mood.

M. You faid juft now, that the English have no Mood; pray how do they exprefs the different intentions of the mind by means of Verbs ?

S. By certain words; as, can, may, might, would, could, ought, fhall, fhould, &c. Thus, the poffibility of any thing to du, or to be done, is expreffed by can or could; the li berty or defign of the speaker or doer, by may or might; the inclination, by will or would; and the neceflity of doing a thing, by muft, or, ought, fhall, or fhould. Of TENSES.

M. What do you mean by Ten es?

S. Tenfe in Grammar fignifies the different times of an Action: that is, the Tenfe fhews the action or thing we are doing; the action or thing finished or done; and the action or thing to be done afterwards.

M. Are there then but three Tenfes or Times?

S. Strictly speaking there are but three, for all things are comprehended in the Time paft, Time prefent, or

Time to come.

M. But are there no more Tenfes or differences of Time than these three?

S. Yes, thofe three are divided into fix, viz. three Tenfes or limes of the imperfect action, or thing not done, & three Tenfes of the perfect action, or thing really done or finished. M. Pray tell me how you make fix Tenfes?

S. There is one prefent, three preter, & two future Tenfes, M, Tell me their names.

S. 1. The prefent Tenfe. 2. The preter, or preter perfe& Tenje. 3. The preter-imperfect Tenje. 4. The preter-pluperfett Tenfe. 5. The 1ft future Tenfe. 6. The ad future Tenfe,

M. How are thete Tentes, or different times of an action expreffed ?

S. The prefent Tenfe, or time of an action, is known by the words, do, do, doth, or does, coming before the Verb; as, I dine, do dine, or am now at dinner, &c.

2. The preter-perfect Tenfe, or the prefent time of the ac tion finished, is known by the words, have, haft, hath, or has; as, I have dined, or have done dinner, &c.

3. The preter-imperfect Tenfe, or the preter time of the action not finifhed, is known by the words, was, were, did, didft, &c. as, I was then at dinner, but had not done, &c,

4. The preter pluperfect Tenfe fhews the preter time of the action done or finifhed, and is known by the word, had, hadft, &c. as I had dined, or I had quite done dinner.

5. The first future Tenfe fignifies the time of action not yet done, but which will foon be done or finished; and is known by the words, fhall, or will; as, I shall dine, but shall not then have done; or, I will fing presently, and you shall foon hear me, &c.

6. The fecond future Tenfe (peaks of things yet to come, but that shall be finifhed before fomething else that is mentioned; as, I fhall have dined before you arrive; I fhall have done before night.

Of REGULAR VERBS.

M. What do you mean by a regular Verb?

S. All fuch Verbs as keep a regular förmation in their different Tenfes are regular Verbs.

M. Name two or three of these regular Verbs?

S. To fup, to burn, to walk, to punish, &c. or, I fup, burn, I walk, I punish, &c.

M. Why do you call Verbs of this fort regular?

S. Because the Verb itself keeps the fame almost in every Perfon and Tenfe, fave that it sometimes has a fyllable more in fome of the Perfons, and a fyllable more in fome of the Tenfes; as alfo in the paffive Participle, as you will fee more plainly hereafter.

M. Give me an inftance of the regular Verb to walk? S. In the prefent Tense it runs thus: I walk, we walk, ye walk, they walk.

M. And will it be the fame in the other Tenfes ?

S. The Verb itself will then have a fyllable more in the preter Tenfe, and in the other Tenfes formed on the Preter: thus, the prefent Tenfe is, I burn, or do burn, I walk, or do walk, I fup, or do fup, &c. to which if you add the fyllable (ed), you have the preter Tenfe, as I burned, or did burn, I fupped, or did fup, &c,

M. Pray is (ed) to be added to the preter Tense of all regular Verbs?

S. No; for if the prefent Tenfe ends in (e), then adding (d) only makes the Preter; but ftill it has another, fyllable; thus, I dine, I love, &c. in the prefent, make dined and loved in the preter tenfe, except you put the word did to it, then it is, I dined, or did dine.

Of IRREGULAR VERBS.

M. What do you call irregular Verbs?

S. All such Verbs as are the very fame in the Preter as in the prefent Tenfe; or fuch whofe preter tenfe and paffive Participles are quite contrary words, are irregular Verbs. M. Name me a few irregular Verbs?

S. Thefe Verbs, to read, run, fly, give, &c. are irregular Verbs M. Why fo?

S. Because the preter Tenfe will not allow of (ed) being added to form it; but is quite another word, or else the very fame differently pronounced: as,

Prefent Tenle, I read, or do read.

Preter Tenfe, I read (pronounced red,, or did read. Paffive Participle, read (pronounced red), being read. M. What do you obferve further on irregular Verbs? S. You fee fome Verbs are alike in both present and preter Tenfes; but the Verbs, run, fly, give, &c. are quite different in the Preter.

I run,
I fly,

I ran, or did run.

Thus in the prefent Tense,

Is in the

I give,

Preter Tenfe,

Of NEUTER VERB6,

M. What do you mean by a neuter Verb?

S. A neuter Verh is by fome called an effential Verb, it b ing abfolute in itself, and expreffes fomething to be don but not the perfon or thing which the action is to affect for it has no Noun after it, as an active Verb has.

M. How is a neuter Verb known then?

S. By finding that it will not take a Noun after it, as, to #tand, to run, to fup, &c.

M. But how will you make it appear, that it will not

take a Noun after it ?

S. Because we cannot fay, to ftand a thing; or, to run a thing; but an active Verb takes in another fubject, or paffed over to fome other object or thing, and therefore has a Noun after it; whereas a neuter Verb must have fome word between it and the following Noun, in order to make a complete Sentence; as, to ftand in the rain, to út upon a chair.