Chapter 17

The INDICATIVE MOOD simply indicates or declares a thing; as, "He _writes_;" or it asks a question; as, "_Does_ he _write_? Who _wrote_ that?"

The term _indicative_, comes from the Latin _indico_, to _declare_. Hence, the legitimate province of the indicative mood, is to _declare_ things, whether positively or negatively; thus, _positively_, He _came_ with me; _negatively_, He _came not_ with me. But in order to avoid a multiplication of moods, we extend its meaning, and use the indicative mood in asking a question; as, Who _came_ with you?

The subjunctive mood being more analogous to the indicative in conjugation, than any other, it ought to be presented next in order. This mood, however, differs materially from the indicative in sense; therefore you ought to make yourself well acquainted with the nature of the indicative, before you commence with the subjunctive.

The SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD expresses action, passion, or being, in a doubtful or conditional manner or,

When a verb is preceded by a word that expresses a condition, doubt, motive, wish, or supposition, it is in the SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD; as, "_If_ he _study_, he will improve; I will respect him, _though_ he _chide_ me; He will not be pardoned, _unless_ he _repent; _Had_ he _been_ there, he would have conquered;" (that is, _if_ he _had been_ there.)

The conjunctions _if, though, unless_, in the preceding examples, express condition, doubt, &c.; therefore, the verbs _study, chide, repent_, and _had been_, are in the subjunctive mood.

NOTE 1. A verb in this mood is generally attended by another verb in some other mood. You observe, that each of the first three of the preceding examples, contains a verb in the indicative mood, and the fourth, a verb in the potential.

2. Whenever the conjunctions _if, though, unless, except, whether, lest_, or any others, denote contingency or doubt, the verbs that follow them are in the subjunctive mood; as, "_If_ he _ride_ out every day, his health will probably improve;" that is, if he _shall_ or _should_ ride out hereafter. But when these conjunctions do not imply doubt, &c. the verbs that follow them are in the indicative, or some other mood; as, "_Though_ he _rides_ out daily, his health is no better." The conjunctive and indicative forms of this mood, are explained in the conjugation of the verb to _love_. See page.

The IMPERATIVE MOOD is used for commanding, exhorting, entreating, or permitting; as, _"Depart_ thou; _Remember_ my admonitions; _Tarry_ awhile longer; _Go_ in peace."

The verb _depart_ expresses a command; _remember_ exhorts; _tarry_ expresses entreaty; and _go_, permission; therefore they are all in the imperative mood.

The _imperative_, from _impero_, to command, is literally that mood of the verb used in _commanding;_ but its technical meaning in grammar is extended to the use of the verb in exhorting, entreating, and permitting.

A verb in the imperative mood, is always of the second person, though never varied in its terminations, agreeing with _thou, ye_, or _you_, either expressed or implied. You may know a verb in this mood by the sense; recollect, however, that the nominative is always _second_ person, and frequently understood; as, George, _give_ me my hat; that is, give thou, or give you. When the nominative is expressed, it is generally placed after the verb; as, Go _thou_; Depart _ye_; or between the auxiliary and the verb; as, Do _thou_ go; Do _ye_ depart. (_Do_ is the auxiliary.)

The POTENTIAL MOOD implies possibility, liberty, or necessity, power, will, or obligation; as, "It _may rain_; He _may go_ or _stay_; We _must eat_ and _drink_; I _can ride_; He _would walk_; They _should learn_."

In the first of these examples, the auxiliary _may_ implies possibility; in the second it implies liberty; that is, he is at liberty to go or to stay; in the third, _must_ denotes necessity; _can_ denotes power or ability; _would_ implies will or inclination; that is, he had a _mind_ to walk; and _should_ implies obligation. Hence you perceive, that the verbs, may rain, may go, must eat, must drink, can ride, world walk, and should learn, are in the _potential_ mood.

NOTE 1. As a verb in the indicative mood is converted into the subjunctive when it is preceded by a conjunction expressing doubt, contingency, supposition, &c., so a verb in the potential mood, may, in like manner, be turned into the subjunctive; as, "_If_ I _could deceive_ him, I should abhor it; _Though_ he _should increase_ in wealth, he would not be charitable." I _could deceive_, is in the potential; _If_ I _could deceive_, is in the subjunctive mood.

2. The potential mood, as well as the indicative, is used in asking a question; as, "May I go? Could you understand him? Must we die?"

The INFINITIVE MOOD expresses action, passion, or being, in a general and unlimited manner, having no nominative, consequently, neither person nor number; as, _"To speak, to walk_."

_Infinitive_ means _unconfined_, or _unlimited_. This mood is called the infinitive, because its verb is not confined or limited to a nominative. A verb in any other mood is limited; that is, it must agree in number and person with its nominative; but a verb in this mood has _no_ nominative, therefore, it never changes its termination, except to form the perfect tense. Now you understand why all verbs are called _finite_ or _limited_, excepting those in the infinitive mood.

NOTE. _To_, the sign of the infinitive mood, is often understood before the verb; as, "Let me proceed;" that is, Let me _to_ proceed. See RULE 25. _To_ is not a preposition when joined to a verb in this mood; thus, _to_ ride, _to_ rule; but it should be parsed with the verb, and as a part of it.

If you study this lecture attentively, you will perceive, that when I say, I _write_, the verb is in the indicative mood; but when I say, _if_ I write, or, _unless_ I write, &c. the verb is in the subjunctive mood; _write_ thou, or _write_ ye or you, the imperative; I _may write_, I _must write_, I _could write, &c._ the potential; and _to write_, the infinitive. Any other verb (except the defective) may be employed in the same manner.

* * * * *

II. OF THE TENSES.

TENSE means time.

Verbs have six tenses, the Present, the Imperfect, the Perfect, the Pluperfect, and the First and Second Future tenses.

The PRESENT TENSE represents an action or event as taking place at the time in which it is mentioned; as, "I _smile_; I _see_; I _am seen_."

NOTE 1. The present tense is also used in speaking of actions continued, with occasional intermissions, to the present time; as, "He _rides_ out every morning."

2. This tense is sometimes applied to represent the actions of persons long since dead; as, "Seneca _reasons_ and _moralizes_ well; An honest man _is_ the noblest work of God."

3. When the present tense is preceded by the words, _when, before, after, as soon as_, &c. it is sometimes used to point out the relative time of a future action; as, "_When_ he _arrives_ we shall hear the news."

The IMPERFECT TENSE denotes a past action or event, however distant; or,

The IMPERFECT TENSE represents an action or event as past and finished, but without defining the precise time of its completion; as, "I _loved_ her for her modesty and virtue; They _were_ travelling post when he _met_ them."

In these examples, the verbs _loved_ and _met_ express past and _finished_ actions, and therefore constitute a _perfect_ tense as strictly as any form of the verb in our language; but, as they do not define the precise time of the completion of these actions, their tense may properly be denominated an _indefinite past_. By defining the present participle in conjunction with the verb, we have an _imperfect_ tense in the expression, _were travelling_. This course, however, would not be in accordance with the ordinary method of treating the participle. Hence it follows, that the terms _imperfect_ and _perfect_, as applied to this and the next succeeding tense, are not altogether significant of their true character; but if you learn to apply these tenses _correctly_, the propriety or impropriety of their names is not a consideration of very great moment.

The PERFECT TENSE denotes past time, and also conveys an allusion to the present; as, "I _have_ finished my letter."

The verb _have finished_, in this example, signifies that the action, though past, was perfectly finished at a point of time immediately preceding, or in the course of a period which comes to the present. Under this view of the subject, the term _perfect_ may be properly applied to this tense, for it specifies, not only the completion of the action, but, also, alludes to the particular period of its accomplishment.

The PLUPERFECT TENSE represents a past action or event that transpired before some other past time specified; as, "I _had finished_ my letter before my brother arrived."

You observe that the verb _had finished_, in this example, represents one _past_ action, and the arrival of my brother, another _past_ action; therefore _had finished_ is in the pluperfect tense, because the action took place prior to the taking place of the other past action specified in the same sentence.

The FIRST FUTURE TENSE denotes a future action or event; as "I _will finish_; I _shall finish_ my letter."

The SECOND FUTURE TENSE represents a future action that will be fully accomplished, at or before the time of another future action or event; as, "I _shall have finished_ my letter when my brother arrives."

This example clearly shows you the meaning and the proper use of the second future tense. The verb "shall have finished" implies a future action that will be completely finished, at or before the time of the other future event denoted by the phrase, "_when_ my brother _arrives_."

NOTE. What is sometimes called the _Inceptive_ future, is expressed thus, "I am going _to write_;" "I am about _to write_." Future time is also indicated by placing the infinitive present immediately after the indicative present of the verb _to be_; thus, "I am _to write_;" "Harrison is _to be_, or ought _to be_, commander in chief;" "Harrison is _to command_ the army."

You may now read what is said respecting the moods and tenses several times over, and then you may learn to _conjugate_ a verb. But, before you proceed to the conjugation of verbs, you will please to commit the following paragraph on the _Auxiliary_ verbs and, also, the _signs_ of the moods and tenses; and, in conjugating, you must pay particular attention to the manner in which these signs are applied.

OF THE AUXILIARY VERBS.

AUXILIARY or HELPING VERBS are those by the help of which the English verbs are principally conjugated. _May, can, must, might, could, would, should,_ and _shall_, are always auxiliaries; _do, be, have_, and _will_, are sometimes auxiliaries, and sometimes principal verbs.

The use of the auxiliaries is shown in the following conjugation.

SIGNS OF THE MOODS.

The _Indicative_ Mood is known by the _sense_, or by its having _no sign_, except in asking a question; as, "Who _loves_ you?"

The conjunctions _if, though, unless, except, whether_, and _lest_, are generally signs of the _Subjunctive_; as, "_If_ I _love; unless_ I _love_," &c.

A verb is generally known to be in, the _Imperative_ Mood by its agreeing with _thou_, or _ye_ or _you_, understood; as, _"Love_ virtue, _and follow_ her steps;" that is, love _thou_, or love _ye_ or _you_; follow _thou_, &c.

_May, can_, and _must, might, could, would_, and _should_, are signs of the _Potential_ Mood; as, "I _may_ love; I _must_ love; I _should_ love," &c.

_To_ is the sign of the _Infinitive_; as, "_To_ love, _to_ smile, _to_ hate, _to_ walk."

SIGNS OF THE TENSES.

The first form of the verb is the sign of the present tense; as, _love, smile, hate, walk_.

_Ed_--the imperfect tense of regular verbs; as, _loved, smiled, hated, walked_.

_Have_--the perfect; as, _have_ loved.

_Had_--the pluperfect; as, _had_ loved. _Shall_ or _will_--the first future; as, _shall_ love, or _will_ love; _shall_ smile, _will_ smile.

_Shall_ or _will have_--the second future; as, _shall have_ loved, or _will have_ loved.

NOTE. There are some exceptions to these signs, which you will notice by referring to the conjugation in the potential mood.

Now, I hope you will so far consult your own ease and advantage, as to commit, perfectly, the signs of the moods and tenses before you proceed farther than to the subjunctive mood. If you do, the supposed Herculean task of learning to conjugate verbs, will be transformed into a few hours of pleasant pastime.

The Indicative Mood has _six_ tenses. The Subjunctive has also _six_ tenses. The Imperative has only _one_ tense. The Potential has _four_ tenses. The Infinitive has _two_ tenses.

CONJUGATION OF VERBS.

The CONJUGATION of a verb is the regular combination and arrangement of its several numbers, persons, moods, and tenses.

The Conjugation of an active verb, is styled the _active voice_; and that of a passive verb, the _passive voice_.

Verbs are called Regular when they form their imperfect tense of the indicative mood, and their perfect participle, by adding to the present tense _ed_, or _d_ only when the verb ends in _e_; as,

Pres. Tense. Imp. Tense. Perf. Participle I favor. I favor_ed_. favor_ed_. I love. I love_d_, love_d_.

A Regular Verb is conjugated in the following manner.

TO LOVE.--INDICATIVE MOOD.

Present Tense.

_Singular_. _Plural_. 1. _Pers_. I love, 1. We love, 2. _Pers_. Thou lovest, 2. Ye _or_ you love, 3. _Pers_. He, she, _or_ it, loveth 3. They love. _or_ loves.

When we wish to express energy or positiveness, the auxiliary _do_ should precede the verb in the present tense: thus,

_Singular_. _Plural_. 1. I do love, 1. We do love, 2. Thou dost love, 2. Ye _or_ you do love, 3. He doth _or_ does love. 3. They do love.

Imperfect Tense.

_Singular_. _Plural_. 1. I loved, 1. We loved, 2. Thou lovedst, 2. Ye _or_ you loved, 3. He loved. 3. They loved.

Or by-prefixing _did_ to the present: thus,

_Singular_. _Plural_. 1. I did love 1. We did love, 2. Thou didst love, 2. Ye _or_ you did love, 3. He did love. 3. They did love.

Perfect Tense.

_Singular_. _Plural_. 1. I have loved, 1. We have loved, 2. Thou hast loved, 2. Ye _or_ you have loved, 3. He hath _or_ has loved. 3. They have loved.

Pluperfect Tense.

_Singular_. _Plural_. 1. I had loved, 1. We had loved, 2. Thou hadst loved, 2. Ye _or_ you had loved, 3. He had loved. 3. They had loved.

First Future Tense.

_Singular_. _Plural_. 1. I shall _or_ will love, 1. We shall _or_ will love, 2. Thou shalt _or_ wilt love, 2. Ye _or_ you shall _or_ will love, 3. He shall _or_ will love, 3. They shall _or_ will love.

Second Future Tense.

_Singular_. _Plural_. 1. I shall have loved, 1. We shall have loved, 2. Thou wilt have loved, 2. Ye _or_ you will have loved, 3. He will have loved, 3. They will have loved.

NOTE. Tenses formed without auxiliaries, are called _simple_ tenses; as, I _love;_ I _loved;_ but those formed by the help of auxiliaries, are denominated _compound_ tenses; as, I _have loved;_ I _had loved_, &c.

This display of the verb shows you, in the clearest light, the application of the _signs_ of the _tenses_, which signs ought to be perfectly committed to memory before you proceed any farther. By looking again at the conjugation, you will notice, that _have_, placed before the perfect participle of any verb, forms the perfect tense; _had_, the pluperfect; _shall_ or _will_, the first future, and so on.

Now speak each of the verbs, _love, hate, walk, smile, rule_, and _conquer_, in the first person of each tense in this mood, with the pronoun _I_ before it; thus, indicative mood, pres. tense, first pers. sing. I love; imperf. I loved; perf. I have loved; and so on, through all the tenses. If you learn thoroughly the conjugation of the verb in the indicative mood, you will find no difficulty in conjugating it through those that follow, for in the conjugation through all the moods, there is a great similarity.

SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD.

Present Tense, or elliptical future.--_Conjunctive form_.

_Singular_. _Plural_. 1. If I love, 1. If we love, 2. If thou love, 2. If ye _or_ you love, 3. If he love. 3. If they love.

Look again at the conjugation in the indicative present, and you will observe, that the form of the verb differs from this form in the subjunctive. The verb in the present tense of this mood, does not vary its termination on account of number or person. This is called the _conjunctive_ form of the verb; but sometimes the verb in the subjunctive mood, present tense, is conjugated in the same manner as it is in the indicative, with this exception, _if, though, unless_, or some other conjunction, is prefixed; as,

_Indicative form_.

_Singular_. _Plural_. 1. If I love, 1. If we love, 2. If thou lovest, 2. If ye _or_ you love, 3. If he loves, 3. If they love.

The following general rule will direct you when to use the _conjunctive_ form of the verb, and when the _indicative_. When a verb in the subjunctive mood, present tense, has a _future_ signification, or a reference to _future_ time, the conjunctive form should be used; as, "If thou _prosper_, thou shouldst be thankful;" "He will maintain his principles, though he _lose_ his estate;" that is, If thou _shalt_ or _shouldst_ prosper; though he _shall_ or _should_ lose, &c. But when a verb in the subjunctive mood, present tense, has _no_ reference to future time, the indicative form ought to be used; as, "Unless he _means_ what he says, he is doubly faithless." By this you perceive, that when a verb in the present tense of the subjunctive mood, has a future signification, an _auxiliary_ is always understood before it, for which reason, in this construction, the termination of the principal verb never varies; us, "He will not become eminent, unless he _exert_ himself;" that is, unless he _shall_ exert, or _should_ exert himself. This tense of the subjunctive mood ought to be called the _elliptical future_.

The imperfect, the perfect, the pluperfect, and the first future tenses of this mood, are conjugated, in every respect, like the same tenses of the indicative, with this exception; in the subjunctive mood, a conjunction implying doubt, &c. is prefixed to the verb. In the second future tense of this mood, the verb is conjugated thus:

Second Future Tense.

_Singular._ _Plural_.

1. If I shall have loved, 1. If we shall have loved, 2. If thou shalt have loved, 2. If you shall have loved, 3. If he shall have loved. 3. If they shall have loved.

Look at the same tense in the indicative mood, and you will readily perceive the distinction between the two conjugations.

IMPERATIVE MOOD.

_Singular._ _Plural_. 2. Love, _or_ love thou, _or_ do 2. Love, _or_ love ye _or_ you, _or_ thou love. do ye _or_ you love.

NOTE. We cannot command, exhort, &c. either in _past_ or _future_ time; therefore a verb in this mood is always in the _present_ tense.

POTENTIAL MOOD.

Present Tense.

_Singular._ _Plural_.

1. I may, can, _or_ must love, 1. We may, can, or must love, 2. Thou mayst, canst, _or_ must 2. Ye _or_ you may, can, _or_ love, must love, 3. He may, can, _or_ must love. 3. They may, can, _or_ must love.

Imperfect Tense.

_Singular._ _Plural_.

1. I might, could, would, _or_ 1. We might, could, would, _or_ should love, should love, 2. Thou mightst, couldst, 2. Ye _or_ you might, could, wouldst, _or_ shouldst love, would, _or_ should love, 3. He might, could, would, _or_ 3. They might, could, would, should love, _or_ should love.

Perfect Tense.

_Singular._ _Plural_.

1. I may, can, _or_ must have 1. We may, can, _or_ must have loved, loved, 2. Thou mayst, canst, _or_ must 2. Ye _or_ you may, can, _or_ have loved, must have loved, 3. He may, can, _or_ must 3. They may, can, _or_ must have loved. have loved.

Pluperfect Tense.

_Singular._ _Plural_.

1. I might, could, would, 1. We might, could, would, _or_ should have loved, _or_ should have loved, 2. Thou mightst, couldst, wouldst, 2. Ye _or_ you might, could, _or_ shouldst have loved, would, _or_ should have loved, 3. He might, could, would, 3. They might, could, would, _or_ should have loved, _or_ should have loved.

By examining carefully the conjugation of the verb through this mood, you will find it very easy; thus, you will notice, that whenever any of the auxiliaries, _may, can_, or _must_, is placed before a verb, that verb is in the potential mood, _present_ tense; _might, could, would_, or _should_, renders it in the potential mood, _imperfect_ tense; _may, can_, or _must have_, the _perfect_ tense; and _might, could, would_, or _should have_, the _pluperfect_ tense.

INFINITIVE MOOD.

Pres. Tense. To love. Perf. Tense. To have loved.

PARTICIPLES.

Present _or_ imperfect, Loving. Perfect _or_ passive, Loved. Compound, Having loved.

NOTE. The perfect participle of a regular verb, corresponds exactly with the imperfect tense; yet the former may, at all times, be distinguished from the latter, by the following rule: In composition, the imperfect tense of a verb _always_ has a nominative, either expressed or implied: the perfect participle _never_ has.