Owen—Hybrid Parts of Speech. 
197 
In the forms thus far considered, verbal inflection, even in 
highly inflected languages, is almost completely neglected. 
The verbal time-inflections do not need to act; for what is 
dominantly posed as qualitative, poses also rather as of all 
time, or of no time at all (or time inferred), than as of abso¬ 
lutely present, past or future time. Voice, indeed, is often indi¬ 
cated, as shown by the expression “Insect-des troy able plants.” 
In this, it is true, the suffix “able” is not usually ranked as in¬ 
flectional, but is distinguished as derivative. I do not wish, 
however, to neglect main issues, for any present effort to estab¬ 
lish the futility of such distinction. Enough that verbal change 
of form, to indicate an element of meaning, is a possibility, 
and is occasionally utilized. 
Of inflection to show that a verbally functionating adjective, 
in lateral function, is operative as a verb, I find no reliable 
cases. 
Verbal inflection for person and number, to indicate with 
what the hybrid word must be associated—that is, what may 
be known as associational or sympathetic inflection—is omitted, 
as unnecessary, since in well inflected languages the now con¬ 
sidered verbal adjective is provided with,an equally effective 
adjective inflection for gender, number and case. 
In addition to this associational inflection, the verbally func¬ 
tionating adjective,exhibits by its form its function as an ad¬ 
jective, and not for instance as a noun or adverb, as appears 
in comparison of “destructive” with “destruction” and “de¬ 
structively.” Whether variation of this sort shall rank as 
derivative or inflectional, I make no effort to decide. 
Passing to adjective variations of form, designed to indicate 
a change of meaning, I merely note that they occur. As to 
comparison, or change of form to indicate, in what is ranked 
as quality, degrees of its intensity, absolute or relative, in as¬ 
cending or descending scale—whether it shall rank (so far as 
manifested by the verbal adjective) as derivative or inflec¬ 
tional—whether any form analogous to “bigger” be one or the 
other—and what, in either case, to do with forms analogous 
