Owen—Hybrid Parts of Speech. 
187 
ically not by any means without a precedent, this total would 
be increased to 2,160x2x3x3=38,880. 
Their actual inflectional varieties . 
Obviously the very perfection of such a system of verbo-nom- 
inal inflection as should realize all possibilities, operates to bar 
its adoption, the fatigue of wielding or even holding so vast 
an implement being unendurable. In actual practice only such 
inflection is adopted as is felt to be indispensable, with a con¬ 
siderable leaning toward omission of inflection in case of the 
slightest doubt. 
The inflections which contribute elements of thought are 
actually employed, except in cases in which it is more or less 
legitimately felt that what they mean can be supplied. Thus 
in “The expurgation of Mrs. Hemans” (the core of a famous 
joke of Eugene Field) “expurgation”, commonly ranked as a 
verbal noun, suggests that a publisher omits whatever ob¬ 
scenities may be findable in Mrs. Hemans’ writings. On the 
other hand, the expression “Mrs. Hemans’ expurgation by 
Field” suggests (though not of absolute necessity) a work of 
supererogation “suffered” by the writings. That is, a single 
form is used for either voice, distinction being effected inferen- 
tially. Other forms, for instance the infinitive, are usually 
varied to indicate intended voice. Time also, when distinctly 
thought of, is indicated, as in the present, past and even future 
infinitive forms. But time is sometimes quite unthought of, 
as in the case of the so-called “tenseless forms” occurring in 
verbs of other languages. In such a case the tense inflection 
is neglected, as in the above illustration, in which indeed the 
expurgation may be ranked as tenseless. 
Passing from the verbal meaning of the verbal noun to its 
meaning as a noun, I note that the idea expressed by a verb is, 
in its substantive aspect, commonly and adequately posed as 
of no (bona fide) gender. The idea of number 50 is infleetion- 
50 1 mean the genuine singleness or plurality of what the verbal 
noun expresses. As expressed by assertive forms of the verb, such 
number is examined later. 
13 —S. & A. 
