English Grammar in Familiar Lectures Part 30

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 p.r.o.noun _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 princ.i.p.al 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_ pa.s.sive, 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.

For your encouragement, allow me to inform you, that when you shall have learned to conjugate the verb _to love_, you will be able to conjugate all the regular verbs in the English language, for they are all conjugated precisely in the same manner. By pursuing the following direction, you can, in a very short time, learn to conjugate any verb.

Conjugate the verb _love_ through all the moods and tenses, in the first person singular, with the p.r.o.noun _I_ before it, and speak the Participles: thus, Indicative mood, pres. tense, first pers. sing. I _love_, imperf. tense, I _loved_; perf. tense, I _have loved_; and so on, through every mood and tense. Then conjugate it in the second pers.

sing, with the p.r.o.noun _thou_ before it, through all the moods and tenses; thus, Indic. mood, pres. tense, second pers. sing, thou _lovest_; imperf. tense, thou _lovedst_; and so on, through the whole.

After that, conjugate it in the third pers. sing, with _he_ before it; and then in the first pers. plural, with _we_ before it, in like manner through all the moods and tenses. Although this mode of procedure may, at first, appear to be laborious, yet, as it is necessary, I trust you will not hesitate to adopt it. My confidence in your perseverance, induces me to recommend any course which I know will tend to facilitate your progress.

When you shall have complied with my requisition, you may conjugate the following verbs in the same manner; which will enable you, hereafter, to tell the mood and tense of any verb without hesitation: _walk, hate, smile, rule, conquer, reduce, relate, melt, shun, fail_.