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THE POPULAR EDUCATOR. 



LESSONS IN GERMAN. LXXY. 



138. RULE. 



The imperfect tense is used to express what existed, or was 

 taking place at some past time indicated by the context ; as, id) 

 fcbrteb ait te, als id; 3fyren SSricf crbjcft, I was writing to you, when 

 I received your letter. 



OBSERVATIONS. (1.) The imperfect is the historical tense of 

 the Germans. Its proper office is to mark what is incomplete, 

 or going on, while something else is going on. It is the tense 

 adopted by the narrator, who speaks as an eye-witness ; though 

 it may be used by such as have not been eye-witnesses of the 

 events narrated ; provided the statement be introduced or 

 accompanied by such expressions as, he said (fagte cr), it is said, 

 or they say (fajt man). When the speaker has not been an eye- 

 witness, the perfect should be used. 



(2.) From the use of the imperfect in expressing the continu- 

 ance of a thing, i.e., what was going on at a given time, comes 

 the kindred power which it has, of expressing repeated or cus- 

 tomary action ; as, er pftegte ju fagen, he used to say, i.e., was in 

 the habit of saying. 



139. RULE. 



The perfect tense is that which represents the being, action, 

 or passion as past and complete at the time being ; as, tie 

 @c$iffe ftnb angefommen, the ships have arrived ; et ift ovige 2Bod;e 

 geftorben, he died last week. 



OBSERVATIONS. (1.) The German perfect, as a general 

 thing, corresponds closely to our imperfect, when used as an 

 aorist ; that is, when used to express an event simply and abso- 

 lutely, and without regard to other events or circumstances. 

 Hence it often happens, that where in English we use the im- 

 perfect, the Germans employ their perfect ; thus, id; tyabe tcincn 

 Skitter geftern gefe6.cn, aber nicbt gefpructyen, I saw your brother yes- 

 terday, but did not speak to him. 



(2.) The auxiliary participle (njorten) in the perfect passive is 

 sometimes omitted. (See 84. 2.) 



140. RULE. 



The pluperfect tense is used to express what had taken place 

 at some past time denoted by the context ; as, nacbtem tie <3oune 

 untergegangen roar, gug sr Hjeg, after the sun had gone down, he 

 went off ; cr fjatte tndtyrcnb unfever llntcrrebung gefd;tafcn, he had slept 

 during our conversation. 



141. RULE. 



The first future tense is employed merely to express what 

 shall or will take place hereafter ; while the second future is 

 used to denote what shall have occurred at some future period. 



OBSERVATION. The future tenses, both first and second, 

 have their precise equivalents in the corresponding English 

 tenses, and should be used accordingly. 



142. RULE. 



The indicative mood is used in affirming or denying that 

 which is conceived to be certain or undoubted; as, tr ttnrb morgen 

 jururffwnmcn, he will return to-morrow. 



OBSERVATION. Since the proper office of the indicative is to 

 express reality, it is employed in all absolute or independent 

 sentences. Even in conditional sentences, moreover, it is used, 

 if the condition is assumed as a fact ; as, bift fcu reicb , fo gib fctel, 

 art thou rich (that is, i/thou art rich), give much. 



143. RULE. 



The subjunctive mood is used when that which is expressed 

 by the verb is conceived to be uncertain, though possible ; as, 

 id? tHibe geljert, bag cr tie geiDunfcbte SteHe erfyatten tyabe, I have heard 

 that he has obtained the desired situation. 



OBSERVATIONS. (1.) The subjunctive, from its very nature, 

 stands chiefly in dependent clauses ; and in these appears under 

 various circumstances. Thus, it is employed 



(2.) When the design of the speaker is merely to repeat or 

 quote a statement, without vouching for its accuracy ; as, cr 

 meltete mir, bap er ftd; scrbeiratbet b,abe, he told me that he had been 

 married. Whan, on the contrary, the design of the speaker is 

 to set forth the thing repeated or quoted, as something real or 

 undoubted, the indicative must be used ; as, er imtt tS nicf)t 

 glauben, baf; fein SBnitcr gcftorben tft, he will not believe that his 

 brother is dead. 



(3.) In like manner the subjunctive is used in subordinate 



clauses, after such verbs as 6,offen, to hope; furd;ten, to fearj 

 tounfdjcn, to wish ; luoflen, to desire ; bitten, to ask ; ratljen, to ad- 

 vise ; serbieten, to forbid ; ermafynen. to exhort ; since the event, 

 in such cases, may be supposed to be always more or less uncer- 

 tain ; as, er furcfytet, tap ev trafe exalte, he is afraid that he may 

 be punished. 



(4.) So also the subjunctive is employed in clauses which 

 indicate an end, object, wish, or result ; and which are intro- 

 duced by baf, auf ta, bamit, or by a relative ; as, fprirf; lout, bamt't 

 cr bid; serftebe, speak loud, that he may understand you. 



(5.) In cases such as those explained in the observations 

 above, the student must note, that that tense of the subjunctive 

 is employed which corresponds with the one used by the subject 

 of the dependent clause, at the time when he said or did that 

 which is affirmed of him ; as, er faojte, er fiabe tietfmat fcinc ^eit, he 

 said that he had (literally, has) no time at present. 



(6.) The subjunotive appears also in asking indirect ques- 

 tions ; as, id; fwijte tfjn, ob cr mir ba3 @elb gebcn tonne, I asked him 

 whether he could give me the money. When the question is 

 made directly, of course the indicative is used. 



144. RULE. 



The conditional mood is used where a condition is supposed 

 which may or may not be conceived to be possible ; as, trare id; 

 rcirf), fo nnirbe id? ib.m fcine sBttte iiid?t abgefd;lagen b.aben, were I rich, I 

 would not have refused his request. 



OBSERVATIONS. (1.) Besides the two tenses ranged under 

 the head of conditional in the paradigms, it must be ob- 

 served that the imperfect and the pluperfect of the subjunctive 

 are equally often employed in expressing conditional proposi- 

 tions. 



(2.) Sometimes, in the way of exclamation, the condition is 

 expressed, while that which depends upon it is omitted ; in which 

 case the whole expression, being of the nature of a wish or peti- 

 tion, is often introduced (in translation) by " oh," " I wish 

 that," and the like ; as, bfltte id; bod? bicfcn QJiann me gcfefyett ! oh, 

 that I had never seen this man ! literally, had I never seen this 

 man (how happy I should be) ! 



(3.) Not unfroquently the conditional of the auxiliaries mogen, 

 biirfen, fottcn, fonncn, and Gotten, is employed to render an expres- 

 sion less positive, or to give it an air of diffidence ; as, id; njotlte, 

 <2>ie begteiteten mid;, I could wish (instead of I wish) you would 

 accompany me ; turfte id? @ie urn ba Differ bitten ? might I (be 

 permitted to) ask you for the knife ? 



145. RULE. 



The imperative mood is used in expressing a command, 

 entreaty, or exhortation ; as, fiirdjte ott unb eb. re ben tfijnig, fear 

 God and honour the king. 



OBSERVATION. Sometimes, by a peculiar ellipsis, the past 

 participle is employed in place of the imperative ; as, nur nid;t 

 tang gefragt : do not ask long ! where the full phrase would be, c3 

 trcrce nur nid?t tang gefragt ! let it not long be asked ! 2ln tie 3lrbeit 

 gegangen, do you go to your work ! 



146. RULE. 



The infinitive mood, either with or without the particle ju 

 (to) preceding, is used to represent the being, action, or passion, 

 in a manner unlimited; as, ftcrben tft 9?id;t$, tod; teben unb nid;t fel)cn, 

 ta8 tft em Ungtucf, to die is nothing, yet to live and not to see, 

 that is a misfortune indeed; ber 2Bunfd; getobt $u werben, the wish 

 to be praised. 



OBSERVATIONS. (1.) The infinitive without ju (to) appears 



(a) When, as a verbal substantive ( 146. 3), it is made either 

 the subject or the object of a verb ; as, @eben tft feliger, a!8 iKefe,* 

 men, to give is more blessed than to receive ; baS ncnnt et ar oeiten, 

 that he calls working. 



(b) When it stands alone, as in a dictionary; as, toben, to 

 praise ; lieben, to love. 



(c) After the verbs Ijeifien, to bid ; tyelfen, to help ; letyrrn, to 

 teach ; terncn, to learn ; b, oren, to hear ; fefyen, to see ; fiib, ten, to 

 feel ; ftntcn, to find ; as, unr levnen tanjen, we learn to dance ; iff? 

 fuHe ben !JM3 fditacjen, I feel his pulse beat. The verbs lefyrcn and 

 terncn form exceptions to the observation; admitting, as they dc 

 sometimes, the particle }U between them and an infinitive sue- ^ 

 ceeding. The student will note also that the infinitive after j 

 all these verbs is in English often best rendered by a partici- 

 ple ; as, er fu6,Ue fcin Slut cjafyren, he felt his blood boiling. 



(d) After the auxiliaries of mood, mcgen, fonnen, taffen, biirfen 



