VOICE.
Is the same idea expressed by the sentences in each group?—
With a certain form of the verb, its subject names theactor;with another form of the verb, the subject namesthe thing acted upon. This change in the form of the verb is calledvoice.
A transitive verb that represents the person or thing named by its subject as acting is said to be in theactive voice; as, Jamesstruckthe horse.
A transitive verb that represents the person or thing named by its subject as being acted upon is said to be in thepassive voice; as, The horsewas struckby James.
Note(a).—The object in the active voice becomes the subject in the passive voice, so that only transitive verbs can properly be used in the passive voice. There are, however, some exceptions to this principle. When an intransitive verb is followed by a phrase made up of a preposition and noun, the intransitive verb may often be used passively with the preposition as an adverbial adjunct; as, Idespairof success. Successis despaired ofby me. Heshotat a bird. A birdwas shot atby him.Note(b).—The agent in the passive voice is indicated by the prepositionby.
Note(a).—The object in the active voice becomes the subject in the passive voice, so that only transitive verbs can properly be used in the passive voice. There are, however, some exceptions to this principle. When an intransitive verb is followed by a phrase made up of a preposition and noun, the intransitive verb may often be used passively with the preposition as an adverbial adjunct; as, Idespairof success. Successis despaired ofby me. Heshotat a bird. A birdwas shot atby him.
Note(b).—The agent in the passive voice is indicated by the prepositionby.
EXERCISE I.
Name the voice of each verb in the following sentences, and state the reason in each case:—
EXERCISE II.
Change the voice of each transitive verb in the preceding lesson.
LESSON XXXVII.
MODE.
Point out in the following sentences a verb that states something as a fact, one that is used in asking a question, one that mentions something merely thought of, and one that expresses a command:—
The manner in which the verb presents the idea is called themodeof the verb.
A verb that is used to state something as a fact, to ask a question, or to express a condition relating to an actual state of things, is in theindicative mode; as, Hereadswell.Doeshereadwell? If hewasguilty, his punishmentwastoo light.
A verb that is used to express something merely thought of is in thesubjunctive mode; as, I wish that hego. If hewerepresent I would speak to him. Thy kingdomcome.
Note.—The verb in conditional sentences is in the subjunctive mode only when it expresses something merely thought of.
A verb that expresses a command or request is in theimperative mode; as,Comeinto the house.Openyour book.
EXERCISE I.
Name the mode or mood of each verb, and give the reason in each case:—
EXERCISE II.
1. Write three sentences each containing an example of the indicative mode.
2. Write three sentences each containing an example of the subjunctive mode.
3. Write three sentences each containing an example of the imperative mode.
The preceding lesson treated of verbs that arelimitedby their subjects as to number and person; as, Iamhere. Johnishere. The boysarehere. Hence these verbs are calledfiniteverbs.
This lesson will treat of verbs that arenot so limited; hence they are calledinfinitive verbs.
THE INFINITIVE.
Select from the following sentences forms of verbs that are used (1) as a noun, (2) as an adverb, and (3) as an adjective:—
The form of the verb that does not make an assertion, and that is not limited as to person and number is called theinfinitive.
The infinitive may be used as a noun; as,To forgiveis divine.
The infinitive may be used as an adverb; as, I cameto callyou back.
The infinitive may be used as an adjective; as, He has no pento write with.
The infinitive may be used as the complement of verbs of incomplete predication; as, He appearedto hesitate.
There are two infinitives, the simple infinitive with or withoutto, and the infinitive ining; as, I liketo rowa boat. He maygo. She is fond ofwritingletters.
The infinitive iningis sometimes called agerund.
The infinitive has a variety of uses. Its grammatical value in English is always determined by its function in the sentence.
Name the infinitives in the following sentences, tell the grammatical value of each, and state the reason:—
LESSON XXXIX.
THE PARTICIPLE.
Select the words in the following sentences that are used to modify nouns, and also imply action or being:—
A word thatparticipatesin the nature of the verb and the adjective is called aparticiple; as,Leavingthe room, we walked into the garden. I found a treasurehiddenin the ground.
A participle qualifies a noun or pronoun, like an adjective, and takes modifiers like a verb. A participle formed from a transitive verb takes an object.
A participle that is used to denote unfinished action is called apresentorimperfect participle; as,Jumpingthe fence, I ran across the field.
A participle that is used to denote finished action is called apastorperfect participle; as, He gave me a pencilpaintedred.
EXERCISE I.
Classify the participles in the following sentences and tell what each modifies:—
EXERCISE II.
Determine the grammatical value of the italicized words in the following sentences, according to the use of each:—
TENSE.
State the time of the action in each of the following sentences, and point out the different forms of the verb:—
The change which takes place in theverbto mark this change of time, is calledtense.
There are three natural divisions of time—present, past, and future, so that there are three corresponding tenses—present,past, andfuture.
A verb that denotes an action in the present time is in thepresent tense; as, Ispeak.
A verb that denotes an action in the past time is in the past tense; as, Ispoke.
A verb that denotes an action in the future time is in the future tense; as, Ishall speak.
Besides these three simple tenses, there are three perfect tenses, which denote action as completed.
Point out a verb in the following sentences that denotes an action completed in present time, one that denotes an action completed in past time, and one that denotes an action completed in future time:—
A verb that denotes an action as completed at the present time is in thepresent perfect tense; as, Ihave spoken.
A verb that denotes an action as having been completed before a certain past time is in thepast perfectorpluperfect tense; as, Ihad spokenbefore you came.
A verb that denotes an action to be completed before a certain future time is in thefuture perfect tense; as, Ishall have spokenbefore he will arrive.
The present and the past tenses are indicated by the form of the verb itself. The other tenses are formed by the aid of other verbs, calledauxiliaryverbs.
TENSES OF THE INDICATIVE MODE.
Note.—Shallis used in the first person, andwillin the second and third persons to denote future action.Willis used in the first person, andshallin the second and third persons to denote determination.
Note.—Shallis used in the first person, andwillin the second and third persons to denote future action.Willis used in the first person, andshallin the second and third persons to denote determination.
EXERCISE.
Select the verbs, and state the tense of each:—
PERSON AND NUMBER.
Point out the different forms of the verb that are used with the different subjects:—
The different forms that a verb takes to agree with the person and number of its subject are calledpersonandnumberforms.
Observe that there is no change in the action expressed by the verb; it has merely adapted itself to the person and number of its subject.
The third person singular has, in the present indicative, theendingsores, and the old formeth; as, Hewalks; Hegoes; Hedreameth.
The second person singular has the endingestorstin both the present and the past tenses; as, Thoulovest; Thoulovedst.
The first person singular and the plural forms for all the persons have no endings to mark person and number, with but one exception, the verbto be; as, Iam; Weare; Iwas; Wewere.
EXERCISE.
Write out the present tense forms, indicative mode, of the following verbs, using the personal pronouns for subjects:—
CONJUGATIONS OF THE VERB.
Point out how the past tense and perfect participle of the following verbs are formed:—
A verb that forms its past tense and perfect participle by addingedordto the present tense form, is a verb of theweakornew conjugation; as,look,looked,looked.
A verb that forms its past tense by changing the vowel of the present, and its perfect participle by addingnorento the present, is a verb of thestrongorold conjugation; as,fall,fell,fallen.
Note.—Verbs of the old conjugation are calledstrongbecause they form their past tense within themselves. Verbs of the new conjugation are calledweakbecause they form their past tense by the aid of an additional syllable.
Weak verbs are called verbs of thenewconjugation because the method of forming the past tense by the addition ofedordis of more recent origin than the method of the strong conjugation.
If we know the present tense form, the past, and the perfect participle of any verb, we can tell to which conjugation it belongs, and can give all its inflections of person, number, tense, and mode, therefore the present tense form, the past and the perfect participle, are called theprincipal partsof the verb. When we give all the inflections of a verb, or indicate them by the principal parts, weconjugateit.
IRREGULAR VERBS OF THE WEAK CONJUGATION.
We have learned that regular verbs of the weak conjugation form their past tense and perfect participle by addingedordto the present tense form.
Point out how the following verbs form their past tense and perfect participle:
In some verbs theedordof the past tense is sounded liket, and in many cases the spelling has changed tot. A few verbs shorten the vowel of the present; as,feel,felt,felt. Other verbs of this conjugation change the vowel before addingd; as,tell,told,told; and a number that end intordmake no change; as,set,set,set.
A LIST OF THE IRREGULAR VERBS OF THE WEAK CONJUGATION.
[1]
Sometimes conjugated regularly.