Grammar of English grammars; or Advanced manual of English grammar and language

the passive participle by adding 'd' or 'ed' to the present tense; thus,

OBS.-A vast majority of English verbs form their past tense and the passive participle in this manner; therefore it is called the regular method.†

Irregular verbs are those which do not form the past time and the passive participle by adding 'd'or‘ed,' but in various other ways; thus,

FINITE verbs are those which have a subject or nominative, and consequently are limited by number and person; hence they are also called personal verbs; as,

I write, thou lovest, he runs.

INFINITIVE verbs are those which have no subject or nominative, and consequently are not limited by number or person; as,

To write, to love, to run.

OBS.-All verbs not in the infinitive mood are finite.

IMPERSONAL verbs are those which do not admit a person as a nominative, but only the pronoun It

before them; as,

It behoves all men to repent.

It rains, it thunders, it irketh, &c.

Methinks. meseemeth, and melisteth, are also considered as impersonal verbs.

Methinks, equivalent to 'It appears to me.'

Meseemeth

Melisteth

'It seems to me.'
'It pleases me.'

OBS.-Some authors consider these three latter verbs as the only true impersonal

*It is probable that the termination ed is the auxiliary did, or some equivalent, put after the verbs, at first separately, but in time coalescing with them. Thus, work-ed, thou work-edst" signify, "I work-did, thou work-didst." In corroboration of this opinion it may be remarked, we cannot say, "I did work-ed," the did being redundant; as if it were, "I did work-did."-Dalton.

There are upwards of 4,000 verbs in the English language, and of these there are not 200 irregular.

verbs in English; while others are of opinion that there are no verbs absolutely impersonal in the language.*

DEFECTIVE verbs are those which have not all the moods and tenses. Such are the follow

ing:-Beware, can, forego, may, must, ought, quoth, shall, will.

REFLECTIVE verbs are those which return the action upon the actor; that is, the agent and object of the verb are the same; as, I cut myself, they behave themselves, he killed himself. QUIESCENT verbs are those which signify rest, or not being in motion; as, thou sittest, he sleeps.

A SUBSTANTIVE verb is one which expresses merely a state of existence; as, am, is, are.

OBS.-The various parts of the verb 'to be' are said to be the only substantive verbs. All others are sometimes called adjective verbs.

WEAK verbs are those which require the addition of d or ed to make the past tense; as,

STRONG verbs are those which require no addition, but make the past tense by a change within themselves; as,

What part of speech must every sentence contain? How may a verb be known? In what different ways have verbs been divided? Define a transitive verb? An intransitive verb? Can any verbs be used transitively and intransitively? Define a generic verb. A specific verb. How does a specific verb affect a generic when placed after it? Give instances. By what name are the generic verbs commonly known? Name the generic verbs. Define a regular verb. An irregular verb. Why are regular verbs so called? Define a finite verb. An infinite verb. An impersonal verb. A defective verb. A reflective verb. A quiescent verb. A substantive verb. A weak verb. A strong verb.

NOTES, ETC.

There are no verbs absolutely impersonal, the pronoun It being the third person singular.'-Devis's Gram.

Some verbs are called " Impersonal." The title, however, is not strictly proper, as they are used in the third person; they may, with greater propriety, be termed "thirdpersonal verbs."'— King's Gram.

OF PARTICIPLES.

Participles are words of a mixed nature, participating the properties of a verb and an adjective. A participle partakes of the nature of a verb in implying action and denoting time, and of the nature of an adjective in denoting quality, and in its relation to the noun. Participles are generally formed by adding ing, d, ed, en, or ne, to the verb; and in a sentence they generally follow the verb have or be. Thus, from the verb love are formed two participles, loving' and 'loved;' from the verb 'write' are formed the participles writing' and 'written. The participle can also be used as an adjective; thus, we can say a loving father, a written letter. All words in which the four following particulars unite are participles:

1. Being derived from a verb.

2. Capable of being used as an adjective.
3. Capable of being used after 'have' or ' be.'
4. Ending in one of the foregoing terminations.

Participles are of two kinds, namely:*

1. The present or active, called also the imperfect or progressive. 2. The past or passive, called also the perfect or completed.

The present or active participle represents the action in a progressive state, or as going on, but not finished, and always ends in 'ing;' as, walking, writing, ringing, doing.

The past or passive participle represents the action as finished or completed, and has various terminations; as, walked, written, rung, done.

The present or progressive participle may be used in various ways, and for different purposes. Thus :

1. It may be used as a noun or the name of a thing; as, the writing was good.' When used in this way, it is called a 'participial noun.'

2. It may be used before a noun to denote its quality or kind; as, a working boy. When used in this way, it is called a participial adjective.'

There is much difference of opinion among grammarians respecting the names of the two kinds of participles. Some denominate them the Imperfect and the Perfect; some prefer the names Active and Passive;' and some consider the names Present' and Past' the most convenient. It is, perhaps, of little consequence which of these names be adopted, provided the use and nature of the participles be rightly understood. The participle ending in ing' is very properly called the 'Progressive' participle, as it always denotes an action or state as continuing or progressing at a certain time.

3. It may be used after some part of the verb 'to be,' to express an action in a progressive state, or as going on, but not finished; as, he is writing, the girls are singing. When used in this way, it is simply a participle.

EXAMPLES OF THE THREE USES.

Participial nouns.
Fishing is pleasant
Running tires us
Crying is useless

Participial adjectives.

A fishing frog

A running stream
A crying child

Participles.
The men are fishing.
I am running.
He is crying.

OBS. When words ending in ing' are compounded with something that does not belong to the verb, they are not participles; as, uninteresting, unbelieving, &c. There are such verbs as interest and believe, therefore interesting and believing are participles; but there are no such verbs as uninterest or unbelieve, consequently uniuteresting and unbelieving are not participles. Such words are adjectives; as, an uninteresting story, an unbelieving Jew.

The past or passive participle is not used as a noun like the progressive form, yet it admits of being used for different purposes.

1. It may be used before a noun, like the progressive form, to denote its quality or kind; as, a written letter, a printed letter. When used in this way, it is called a 'participial adjective.'

2. It may be used after the verbs 'have' or 'be,' to denote an action in a completed or finished state; as, 'the letter is written,' he has purchased a house.' When used in this way, it is simply a participle.

OBS. The passive participle of most verbs is literally the same form as the past tense of the verb, the two being distinguished only by the construction and sense.*

NOTES.

* As learners sometimes find a difficulty in distinguishing the passive participle from the past tense of the same form, the following remarks may be found useful: 1. If the doubtful word follow any part of the verbs have' or 'be,' it is a participle, and not the past tense of a verb; thus:

(a) I had loved, he is instructed.

(b) I loved him, he instructed her.

OBS.-In examples (a) loved and instructed are participles, coming after the verbs had and is.

But in examples (b) loved and instructed are verbs in the past tense.

2. If the sense admit of placing a relative and verb' immediately before the doubtful word, it is a participle, and not the past tense; as,

The Crystal Palace constructed in Hyde Park, and opened in 1851, stands at
Sydenham.

OBS.-We can supply which was' before 'constructed' and 'opened,' still making good sense; therefore these words are participles.

3. If the sense admit of using the word 'being' immediately before the doubtful word, it is a participle, and not the past tense of a verb; as,

Fractions understood, practice presented no difficulty.

OBS.-We can supply the word being before understood,' but not before • presented ;. therefore the former is a participle, the latter a verb in the past tense.

QUESTIONS FOR EXAMINATION.

Of what properties aoes a participle partake? How are participles generally formed? How may a participle be distinguished from the other parts of speech? How many kinds of participles are there? How does the present or progressive participle represent an action? How does the past or passive participle represent it? In what different ways may the progressive participle be used? Give instances. Are all words ending with the terminationing' participles? Give instances. In what different ways may the past or passive participle be used? How may the passive participle be distinguished from the past tense of the same form?

OF ADVERBS.

An adverb is a word generally added to a verb or participle to show the manner in which the action is done, such as badly, well, quickly, slowly, &c. But adverbs are also added to adjectives or to other adverbs, to express a greater degree of quality; as, a very good boy, he reads remarkably well. Adverbs may generally be known by answering to the questions, how? how much? where? when? Most adverbs are formed from adjectives by adding ly; as, from wise comes wisely, &c. The adverbs are a very numerous class.

DIFFERENT KINDS OF ADVERBS.

There are several kinds of adverbs; the following are the principal:

Of time present; as, now, to-day, still, &c.

دو

lately, anciently, heretofore, &c.
hereafter, soon, erelong, &c.

when, then, while, early, &c.

,, often, again, seldom, sometimes, &c.
once, twice, thrice, &c.

always, never, ever, eternally, &c.
here, there, where, whence, &c.
wisely, slowly, well, thus, &c.

much, sufficiently, fully, enough, &c.