as, I strike, I struck. Tense is from the French temps, Latin tempus,

time.

By combinations of words and inflections, English verbs have six tenses; namely, Primary Tenses: 1. The PRESENT; 2. The PAST; 3. The FUTURE. Secondary Tenses: 1. The PRESENT PERFECT; 2. The PAST PERFECT; 3. The FUTURE PERFECT.

SECTION CCCXXVI.-FORMS FOR THE PRESENT TENSE.

The PRESENT TENSE denotes present time. Of this there are three forms: 1. I write. This is the simple form, and denotes habitual action and what is true at all times. 2. I am writing. This is the progressive form, and denotes that the action is now going on. 3. I do write. This is the emphatic form, and is used in positive

assertions.

1. The present tense is often used instead of the past, in order to give animation to description. "He walks (for walked) up to him and knocks (for knocked) him down." This denotes a single action, and not the natural habitual power of the English present. The historian, the poet, and the orator make great use of this form, by which they can make the dead past become the living present.

2. The present tense is also used instead of the future when the future is conceived of as present; as, "I cannot determine till the mail arrives." "When he has an opportunity he will write." The words till, when, carry the mind to an event to happen, and we speak of it as present.

SECTION CCCXXVII.-FORMS FOR THE PAST TENSE.

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The PAST TENSE, or Preterit, denotes past time. Of this there are three forms: 1. I wrote. This is the simple form, and represents an action which took place at some time completely past. This is expressed in the English by the preterit, in the Greek by the aorist undefined. 2. I was writing. This is the progressive form, and represents the action as unfinished at a certain specified time past. "I was speaking when he entered." Here we have two acts, the act of speaking and the act of entering. Both are past as regards the time of speaking, but they are contemporary as regards each other. The progressive form is expressed by the past tense of the substantive verb and the present participle. I was speaking = dicebam, the imperfect tense of the Latin. 3. I did write. This is the emphatic form.

SECTION CCCXXVIII.-FORMS FOR THE FUTURE TENSE.

The FUTURE TENSE denotes future time. There are two forms: 1. I shall write. This is the simple form, and represents an action that is yet to come. 2. I shall be writing. This is the progressive form, and expresses an action which is to take place at a future specified time. Both forms are expressed in the English by the combination of will or shall with an infinitive mode; in Latin and Greek by an inflection: I shall (or will) speak, éž, dicam.

"In the first person simply shall foretells;

In will a threat, or else a promise, dwells.

Shall, in the second and the third, does threat;

Will simply, then, foretells the future feat."-BRIGHTLAND.

When speaking in the first person, we speak submissively; when speaking to or of another, we speak courteously. In the older writers, in the translation of the Bible, for instance, shall is applied to all three persons. We had not then reached that stage of politeness which shrinks from the appearance of speaking compulsorily to another. In the Paradigms of the Verbs, two forms of the future are given. The first may be called the predictive future. The second may be called the imperative, or the promissive future. See Sec

tion CCCXLIII.

SECTION CCCXXIX.-FORMS FOR THE PRESENT PERFECT TENSE.

66

The PRESENT PERFECT Tense denotes past time completed in the present, or connected with the present. Of this there are two forms: 1. "I have written a letter." This is the simple form, and represents an action as having been finished in some time past, reckoning from the present. 2. "I have been writing these two hours." This is the progressive form, and represents an action as just finished. The first is expressed in English by the auxiliary verb have, and the passive participle in the accusative case and neuter gender of the singular number. See Section CCCXLVII. The Greek expresses this by the reduplicate perfect: Tónкa = I have laboured. If a particular time not connected with the present is mentioned, the tense must be the past; as, "I finished the work last week." "I have seen my friend last week" is not correct English. "J'ai vu mon ami hier" is good French, but "I have seen my friend yesterday is not good English.

πεπόνηκα

SECTION CCCXXX.--FORMS FOR THE PAST PERFECT TENSE.

The PAST PERFECT denotes past time that precedes some other past time. Of this there are two forms: 1. "I had written the letter before he arrived." This is the simple form, and represents the action as past before some other past time specified. 2. "I had been writing before he arrived." This is the progressive form, and represents that the action was going on before another action took place.

SECTION CCCXXXI.-FORMS FOR THE FUTURE PERFECT TENSE.

The FUTURE PERFECT denotes future time that precedes some other future time. Of this there are two forms: 1. "I shall have written the letter before the mail, is closed." This is the simple form, and denotes an action which will be past at a future time specified. 2. "I shall have been writing an hour before the mail is closed." This is the progressive form, and represents that an action will be going on before a certain other future action will take place. There are other grammatical forms for expressing future time; as,

"I am going to write;" "I am about to write."

In the sentence,

"I have to pay a sum of money to-morrow," there is implied a present necessity to do a future act. The substantive verb, followed by an adjective verb, forms another idiomatic expression of future time; as, "John is to command a regiment."

Of the two examples in Section cccxxv., I strike, I struck, the first. implies an action taking place at the time of speaking; the second marks an action that has already taken place. These two notions of present and past time, being expressed by a change of form, are etymologically true tenses. They are the only true tenses (i. e., on the ground of inflection) in the language. In I was beating, I have beaten, I had beaten, and I shall beat, a difference of time is expressed; but, as it is expressed by a combination of words and not by a change of form, no true tenses are constituted.

I

In Greek the case is different: Βουλεύω = I advise ; ἐβούλευον — was advising; βουλεύσω I shall advise; Covλevσa = I advised; βεβούλευκα = I have advised; ¿bεbovdεúкelv = I had advised. In these words we have, of the same mode, of the same voice, and the same conjugation, six different tenses, whereas in English, by inflection, there are but two.

SECTION CCCXXXII.-MODES OF THE VERB.

MODE denotes those forms which the verb assumes in order to express the relation of reality or existence as conceived of by the

speaker. See Section CCCXXXIV. It shows the manner, Latin

modus, in which an attribute is asserted of the subject.

I. The INDICATIVE mode is that form of the verb which expresses direct assertion or interrogation; as, “He teaches ;” "Do they

learn?" It is used for actual existence.

II. The SUBJUNCTIVE mode is that form of the verb which expresses conditional assertion; as, "If he were there;" "Though he write." It is used for doubtful existence.

III. The POTENTIAL mode is that form of the verb which expresses assertions implying possibility, contingency, or necessity; as, "He can write;" "He may go;" "He must submit.' It is used for possible or necessary existence.

IV. The IMPERATIVE mode is that form of the verb which expresses the will of the speaker; as, "Depart thou;" "Let us stay;" "Go in peace." This is used for desired existence.

V. The INFINITIVE mode is that form of the verb which is not limited to any particular person or number; as, To rest; to learn. It is used for existence in general. It partakes of the nature of an abstract noun.

Besides these, the participle has been by some considered as a mode of the verb partaking of the nature of the adjective, just as the infinitive mode partakes of the nature of a noun.

Indicative, from the Latin indicare, is so called because its chief

use is to point out or indicate simply and absolutely. When used in asking questions, the order, but not the form of the words, is changed.

Subjunctive, from subjungere, to subjoin, is so called because the tenses of the subjunctive mode are generally subjoined to other verbs. It is used to denote something doubtful or contingent, or contrary to the fact. It is commonly denoted by certain conjunctions, as if, lest, though, that, unless.

Potential, from potentialis, posse, to be able, is so called because the idea of power is prominent in this form of the verb. It is denoted by the signs can, may, must, could, might, should, and would. Imperative, from imperare, to command, is so called because it is used in commanding, exhorting, entreating.

Infinitive, from infinitus, unlimited, is so called from its not being limited to a particular subject as to person or number, as the other forms of the verb, which are called finite. This form of the verb is usually denoted by the preposition to.

SECTION CCCXXXIII.-THE ANGLO-SAXON MODES.

The Anglo-Saxon has four modes of the verb, the Indicative, the Subjunctive, the Imperative, and the Infinitive, for which there were corresponding inflections.

SECTION CCCXXXIV. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MODES.

In English, the distinction between the modes, so far as inflection is concerned, is very slight. The only true subjunctive inflection is that of were and wert, as opposed to the indicative forms was and wast. See Section CCCXLVII. If he speak, as opposed to if he speaks, is characterised by a negative sign only, and consequently is no true example of a subjunctive. Be, as opposed to is, in the sentence if it be so, is an uninflected word used in a limited sense, and consequently no true example of a subjunctive. The distinction between the subjunctive forms and the indicative, however desirable it may be to retain it, is likely to pass away.

Between the second person singular imperative, speak, and the second person singular indicative, speakest, there is a difference in form. Still, as the imperative form speak is distinguished from the

indicative form speakest by the negation of a character rather than by the assuming of one, it cannot be said, on the ground of inflection, that there is in English an imperative mode. The Anglo-Saxon has distinct forms for the imperative; the English has not.

It is questionable whether anything has been gained to the language by the introduction of the potential mode. It has taken its place extensively in English grammar as one of the forms of the verb. Still, it should be remembered that, in the language of LOWTH, the mere expression of will, possibility, liberty, obligation, belong to the indicative mode, just as all direct assertion belongs to that mode. In the forms of expression I can go, we may ride, he must obey, I, we, and he are respectively nominative to can, may, and must, which govern go, ride, and obey in the infinitive mode. See Section CCCXLIX. In expressions like "If I should go," "If I may ride," we have the potential form (or indicative) under a condition = the subjunctive mode.

Instead of the terms Subjunctive and Potential, it has been proposed by some grammarians, as simplifying the subject, to substitute for them both the term Conjunctive, to designate the two methods of connecting sentences. Thus, when an uncertain sentence is connected with a certain sentence, If it rain, I shall not go, and when two uncertain sentences are connected together, If it rain, I may not go, the term conjunctive is applied to each of the three uncertain sentences, instead of the term subjunctive to the first two, and the term potential to the last, I may not go. According to this view, the indicative asserts simply; the conjunctive asserts with modifications. The appropriateness of the term conjunctive is derived from the circumstance that the contingency is usually marked by a conjunction (such as if, though, that, except, until), which connects the dependent sentence with its principal.

SECTION CCCXXXV.-INFLECTION OF THE INFINITIVE MODE.

The inflection of the verb in its impersonal or infinitive form anciently consisted, in full, of three cases: a Nominative (or Accusative), a Dative, and a Genitive. The genitive is put last, because its occurrence in the Gothic language is the least constant.

I. In Anglo-Saxon, the nominative (or accusative) ended in -an:

The -en, in words like strengthen, is a derivational termination, and not a representation of the Anglo-Saxon infinitive inflection. The Anglo-Saxon infinitive inflection is lost in the present English, except in certain provincial dialects.

II. In Anglo-Saxon, the dative of the infinitive verb ended in -nne, and was (as a matter of syntax) generally, perhaps always, preceded by the preposition to :