GRAMMAR, 



Latm grammars. In Englifh fhp pafTive form of the verb 

 Ls cxprolTed by the connefting- verb It, be, and the perfect par- 

 ticiple ; anil in converting an aiAive into a jiaifive propofition, 

 \ve need only change the verb to its perfect participle, 

 and fubjiiin it to the connecting verb in the lame mood and 

 tenfe, and annexing the agent with its correfp. indent prepo- 

 iition in tb.e ablative cafe. Tims, we wordiip (iod, becomes 

 Goiih 'wirjh'ippid by ns. Hence it appears that verbs which 

 are tranlitively adtive can be made pallive, becanfe they liave 

 an objeA, which, in the padive form, is made the fubjedt of 

 difcourfe ; and that verbs intranfitively active cannot have a 

 pallive form, becaule they have no object. 



The pallive voice, in all languages, is expreffed by the 

 connecting verb, and the perfeil participle for its predicate ; 

 and it is curious to obferve, that this combination is its origin 

 in the Greek, tongue, the iubjecl of dilcourle being com- 

 bine<l with the perlonal pronouns in the dative cafe. Thus, 

 oino; fio , iouff for me, which do not, as before, coalefce as a 

 fubjeft with an agent ; but as a fubjccl with the perfon to 

 whom it belongs, and for whom it was inteaded. Hejice 

 their combination came to convey the idea/ am houjed, I am 

 built ; for the auxiliary am ferves only to alTert that houfcd 

 or hu'ilt belongs to the pronoun preceding it, and to ce- 

 ment their union in the mind as fubjedl and predicate. In 

 the fame manner, if trji, to, be annexed to the word oi^.o.-, 

 we have oir'j,- <7oi, ono^THthoufs for thee, houfe for him. And 

 thefe contraftions, by flight changes, became oixi^ojuxi, 

 wf.iii-7%1, cr-.i^577-i, I am built, thou art built, he is built. 



A verb, if its operation pafs over to another thing, or if 

 it have an object to exprefsthe effeft of that operation, may 

 be csW^A trarjitive ; but if its influence do not pafs over, or 

 if it have no object, it is intranjltive. Verbs, on the other 

 hand, not expreffng action, but being, pojlur:, continuance, 

 and ferving to aflbciate two things, as a lubjeCl and predicate, 

 may with propriety be called rannci^/ng- verbs. Of this clafs 

 is am, with all its branches, or the correfpondiiig verbs in 

 Latin and Greek. And here it is proper to obferve that 

 verbs of motion came in all languages to lignify continuance, 

 pojlure, and the like, becaiife we can meafurc duration, or 

 even rejl, and privation of motion, only by ideas confequcnt 

 on motion. Thus, in our own tongue, " a ddigent boy will 

 become a learaed man." " By thee difpofed into congenial foil, 

 Jlands each attractive plant," ;'. e. is difpofed. So in I..atin, 

 " Quum placidum ventis_y?ai-rt mare,'' when the [i;:\ flood [i. e. 

 tuas continued) tranquil from the winds. V'cniet lenior, 

 {he will come milder, i. e. will be or become milder. Vixilfet 

 immundiis fus, he would have lived, i.e. he wotild have be- 

 come a filthy pig. Ego inccdo regina, I walk a queen, 

 »i f I am a queen. Theocritus, fpeaking of the irafcibility 

 of Pan, writes Kui U asi Sfiitny. ;^o>.x toti j'r.i y.xd'Tat, keen 

 anger al.vays fits in his nofe. / e. the breath of anger always 

 continues in his noftrils, or, he is ever irafcible. On this 

 principle it is that ;x.'> '" Greek, as implying continuance or 

 pollure, came to have the fenfe of am — '.xXx- exv, J am 

 ii'ell ; and that u, / am, and n-x, I go, were originally the fame. 

 And in Latin coco became, for a fimilar reafon, into efceo, 

 which occurs in Lucreti;is in the fenfe of ejl. From e.vire the 

 Italians have derived z^irf, to go out, end, And ufcio, e.xilus, 

 a door, or a.venue. Hence we have derived to ujher. The 

 Italian itato, fcfn, owes its derivation hom Jlo, to the fame 

 mode of thinking. All verbs, then, are either tranfitive or 

 intranfitive, or connecting verbs. And this divinon appears 

 to us obvious, ufefi.l, and philofophical. 



The properties of verbs are mood, tenfe, number, and 

 perfon. On thefe properties, as tlv.y are difcufTed in all 

 grammars, (fee L. Murray's valuable Grammar of ihe Eng- 

 Ifh Tongue ! Dr. Crombie on Etymology and Syntax j 



Dr. Prieftley's Philofophical Grammar, and particularly 

 iMr. Pickbourn'i excellent Difertaticn on the Engh:h 

 \ erb,J we (hall content ourfelvcs w ith a few obfervatjons. 

 Mr. Tooke, vol. ii 473, fays that mood, tenfe, number 

 and perfon arc no parts of the verb. But this opinion will 

 appear to be erroncoas, if we reflect on llie manner in which 

 verbs are ilerived from nouns. For the pcrfonal pronouns in 

 each number enter into the compofition of a verb in the an- 

 cient languages, where it is dilUnguiflied by perfonal termi- 

 nation ; thougli W.J acknowledge the afferti'on to be jull in 

 Englifh, where the vcib is known only from the annexed 

 pronoun, or its connection with the agent and objea. Again, 

 it we reflect on a verb in its formation, we perceive it to 

 contain an idea, the rcfult of obfervalion and experience-, 

 which, affiaj?, h certain, ahfolute, and unccnditioriiil. This cer- 

 tain, abfoluie, and uiicon<li:ion.il form is elfential to the verb, 

 and It conilitutes that mode or manner called the indicative 

 mood. As the indicative mood refpecis the pail time ; f» 

 the fubjunctlve, in rcfpeft to it, regards the future- And 

 as all future events, at leall with refpect to man, are uncer- 

 tam, relative, and conditional, all verbs, expreifing an un- 

 certain, relative, or conditional fenfe, are in the fubjunaive, ' 

 fi) called from its being fubjoinid to a verb in the indicative. 

 All verbs, moreover, expreifing an ra</ or intention, as being 

 from their nature uncertain, are ufed in the fubjundive ; and 

 for this reafon it might be called iWf.nal mood. In this view it 

 has a clofe affinity to the infinitive, which, as we have already 

 obferved, is only an abllract noun with the prepofiliun /ov 

 denoting the end or objert to which the preceding verb is di- 

 rected. Accordingly, tliey may be fubllituted one for the 

 other, in all inibnces. That.,' I dejire to learn; Idi-firc, 

 the objed of my defire being karning ; I defirc that I iTiould 

 learn; I defire, //a;/ being my end, I Ihould learn. Hence 

 it follows that the lubjunctive mood is not efl"ential to lan- 

 guage, and for this reafon it docs not exill in Hebrew and 

 lome other tongues. As a command is necelTarily given in 

 the time now, the imperative has no tenfe but the prcfent, 

 nor can it, in ilrict propriety, liave a firft perfon, fingular or 

 plural ; becaufe it would be abfurd in a perfon to command 

 himfelf. Let me love, then, is not t\v: jirfi but t\\c ficcad per- 

 fon, as may appear by fubfl;ituting/i.rm;/ for its equivalent 

 let. Permit thou me te love 



Finally, if we reileft on the verb in it.s clement, we ftiall 

 find that timepajl is efl'cntuil to it, becaufe ttic convcrfion of 

 a noun and the annexed pronoun into a veriris in confeqiionce 

 of paft experience or obfervation. But as prefcnt feeling or 

 confcioufnefs coalefces with our refledtion o:t the paft, the 

 verb, which owes its exiilence to the paft, comes to fignify 

 alfo the prefent. And this is the reafon why in Hebrew, 

 the moil ancient language, the fame form of the verb cx- 

 prelfes the pall and the prefent time ;i;nd this too,appeai-s to 

 be the reaijun why in F.oglilh and all otlicr langiiagts a verb 

 in the prefent tonfe isoftcn ufed, in au extend'-d fenfe, to con>- 

 prehend all time, prefent and pail. As, the fun rifes e-vcrf 

 day ; birds fy.; truth is always one. In thefe and fimilar iii- 

 ftances no reference is made to the/«,'urf ; unlefs the future,, 

 by aftbciationjinfenfibly in our minds coalefces with the paft. 

 But men iooa bec;une fenfibleof the necelfity of limiting the 

 verb in regard to time. They foon acquired a dilliaCt no- 

 tionof the thivo divifions of time into prefent, paft, .iiid fu- 

 ture ; and in order to vary the terminations of-the verb, fo as 

 to correfpondto thife divifions, nothing marc was neecfrar\- 

 than to follow the impulfe of alfociatiou. adding on accidental, 

 corruptions. Htnce the origin of tenfe.s, which, as the word 

 implies, are the e.vlenfion of the verb by diftinguiftiing termi- 

 nations to exprefs the divifions of time. And here we 

 cannot help obferving, how improper it is to calltcnfca, 

 2 aad 



