that express the relations of voice, mood, tense, etc.
Verb
2 s
3
7.in modern English have only four or five forms; for example, walk has walk, walks,
Few forms.
walked, walking, sometimes adding the old forms walkest, walkedst, walketh. Such verbs as
choose have five,—choose, chooses, chose, choosing, chosen (old, choosest, chooseth, chosest).
The verb be has more forms, since it is composed of several different roots,—am, are, is, were, been, etc.
INF
2L
3 E
8 C
. TIONS OF THE VERB BE.
Indicative Mood.
PRESENT TENSE.
PAST TENSE.
Singular
Plural
Singular
Plural
1. I am
We are
1. I was
We were
2. You are
2. You were
You are
You were
(thou art)
(thou wast, wert)
3. [He] is [They] are
3. [He] was
[They were]
Subjunctive Mood.
PRESENT TENSE.
PAST TENSE.
Singular
Plural
Singular
Plural
1. I be
We be
1. I were
We were
2. You were
2. You (thou) be You be
You were
(thou wert)
3. [He] be
[They] be 3. [He] were [They] were
Imperative Mood.
PRESENT TENSE
Singular and Plural
Be.
This
2
3 c
9o
. njugation is pieced out with three different roots: (1) am, is; (2) was, were; (3) be.
Remarks on the verb be.
Instead of the plural are, Old English had beoth and sind or sindon, same as the German sind. Are is supposed to have
come from the Norse language.
The old indicative third person plural be is sometimes found in literature, though it is usually a dialect form; for example,
—
Where be the sentries who used to salute as the Royal chariots drove in and out?—Thackeray
Where be the gloomy shades, and desolate mountains?—Whittier
The
2 f
4 o
0 r
. ms of the verb be have several uses:—
Uses of be.
(1) As principal verbs.
The light that never was on sea and land.—Wordsworth.
(2) As auxiliary verbs, in four ways,—
(a) With verbal forms in -ing (imperfect participle) to form the definite tenses.
Broadswords are maddening in the rear,—Each broadsword bright was brandishing like beam of
light.—Scott.
(b) With the past participle in -ed, -en, etc., to form the passive voice.
By solemn vision and bright silver dream,
His infancy was nurtured.
—Shelley.
(c) With past participle of intransitive verbs, being equivalent to the present perfect and past perfect tenses active; as,
When we are gone
From every object dear to mortal sight.
—Wordsworth
We drank tea, which was now become an occasional banquet.—Goldsmith.
(d) With the infinitive, to express intention, obligation, condition, etc.; thus,
It was to have been called the Order of Minerva.—Thackeray.
Ingenuity and cleverness are to be rewarded by State prizes.—Id.
If I were to explain the motion of a body falling to the ground.—Burke
INF
2L
4E
1 C
. TIONS OF THE VERB CHOOSE.
Indicative Mood.
PRESENT TENSE.
PAST TENSE.
Singular.
Plural.
Singular.
Plural.
1. I choose
We choose
1. I chose
We chose
2. You choose
You choose 2. You chose You chose
3. [He] chooses [They] choose 3. [He] chose [They] chose
Subjunctive Mood.
PRESENT TENSE.
PAST TENSE.
Singular.
Plural.
Singular.
Plural.
1. I choose
We choose
1. I chose
We chose
2. You choose You choose 2. You chose You chose
3. [He] choose [They] choose 3. [He] chose [They] chose
Imperative Mood.
PRESENT TENSE
Singular and Plural
Choose.
FULL CONJUGATION OF THE VERB CHOOSE.
In a
2 d
4 d
2.ition to the above inflected forms, there are many periphrastic or compound forms,
Machinery of a verb in the voices,
Machinery of a verb in the voices,
made up of auxiliaries with the infinitives and participles. Some of these have been indicated
tenses, etc.
in Sec. 240, (2).
The ordinary tenses yet to be spoken of are made up as follows:—
(1) Future tense, by using shall and will with the simple or root form of the verb; as, "I shall be," "He will choose."
(2) Present perfect, past perfect, future perfect, tenses, by placing have, had, and shall (or will) have before the past
participle of any verb; as, "I have gone" (present perfect), "I had gone" (past perfect), "I shall have gone" (future perfect).
(3) The definite form of each tense, by using auxiliaries with the imperfect participle active; as, "I am running," "They had
been running."
(4) The passive forms, by using the forms of the verb be before the past participle of verbs; as, "I was chosen," "You are
chosen."
The
2
4fo
3.llowing scheme will show how rich our language is in verb phrases to express every variety of meaning. Only the
third person, singular number, of each tense, will be given.
ACTIVE VOICE.
Indicative Mood.
Present.
He chooses.
Present definite.
He is choosing.
Past.
He chose.
Past definite.
He was choosing.
Future.
He wil choose.
Future definite.
He wil he choosing.
Present perfect.
He has chosen.
Present perfect definite. He has been choosing.
Past perfect.
He had chosen.
Past perfect definite.
He had been choosing.
Future perfect.
He wil have chosen.
Future perfect definite. He wil have been choosing.
Subjunctive Mood.
Present.
[If, though, lest, etc.] he choose.
Present definite.
"
he be choosing.
Past.
"
he chose (or were to choose).
Past definite.
"
he were choosing (or were to be choosing).
Present perfect.
"
he have chosen.
Present perfect definite.
"
he have been choosing.
Past perfect.
"
Same as indicative.
Past perfect definite.
"
Same as indicative.
Imperative Mood.
Present.
(2d per.) Choose.
Present definite.
"
Be choosing.
NOTE.—Since participles and infinitives are not really verbs, but verbals, they will be discussed later (Sec. 262).
PASSIVE VOICE.
Indicative Mood.
Present.
He is chosen.
Present definite.
He is being chosen.
Past.
He was chosen.
Past definite.
He was being chosen.
Future.
He wil be chosen.
Future definite.
None.
Present perfect.
He has been chosen.
Present perfect definite. None.
Past perfect.
He had been chosen.
Past perfect definite.
None.
Future perfect.
He wil have been chosen.
Future perfect definite. None.
Subjunctive Mood.
Present..
[If, though, lest, etc.] he be chosen.
Present definite.
"
None.
Past.
"
he were chosen (or were to be chosen).
Past definite.
"
he were being chosen.
Present perfect.
"
he have been chosen.
Present perfect definite.
"
None.
Past Perfect.
"
he had been chosen.
Past perfect definite.
"
None.
Imperative Mood.
Present tense. (2d per.) Be chosen.
Also, in affirmative sentences, the indicative present and past tenses have emphatic forms made up of do and did with
the infinitive or simple form; as, "He does strike," "He did strike."
[Note to Teacher.—This table is not to be learned now; if learned at all, it should be as practice work on strong and weak
verb forms. Exercises should be given, however, to bring up sentences containing such of these conjugation forms as
the pupil will find readily in literature.]
VERBS CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO FORM.
Acc
2o
4rd
4. ing to form, verbs are strong or weak.
Kinds.
A strong verb forms its past tense by changing the vowel of the present tense form, but
adds no ending; as, run, ran; drive, drove.
Definition.
A weak verb always adds an ending to the present to form the past tense, and may or may not change the vowel: as,
beg, begged; lay, laid; sleep, slept; catch, caught.
TAB
2 L
4 E
5. OF STRONG VERBS.
NOTE. Some of these also have weak forms, which are in parentheses
Present Tense. Past Tense.
Past Participle.
abide
abode
abode
arise
arose
arisen
awake
awoke (awaked) awoke (awaked)
bear
bore
borne (active)born (passive)
begin
began
begun
behold
beheld
beheld
bid
bade, bid
bidden, bid
bind
bound
bound,[adj. bounden]
bite
bit
bitten, bit
blow
blew
blown
break
broke
broken
chide
chid
chidden, chid
choose
chose
chosen
cleave
clove, clave (cleft) cloven (cleft)
climb
[clomb] climbed
climbed
cling
clung
clung
come
came
come
crow
crew (crowed)
(crowed)
dig
dug
dug
do
did
done
draw
drew
drawn
drink
drank
drunk, drank[adj. drunken]
drive
drove
driven
eat
ate, eat
eaten, eat
fal
fel
fal en
fight
fought
fought
find
found
found
fling
flung
flung
fly
flew
flown
forbear
forbore
forborne
forget
forgot
forgotten
forsake
forsook
forsaken
freeze
froze
frozen
get
got
got [gotten]
give
gave
given
go
went
gone
grind
ground
ground
grow
grew
grown
hang
hung (hanged)
hung (hanged)
hold
held
held
know
knew
known
lie
lay
lain
ride
rode
ridden
ring
rang
rung
run
ran
run
see
saw
seen
shake
shook
shaken
shear
shore (sheared)
shorn (sheared)
shine
shone
shone
shoot
shot
shot
shrink
shrank or shrunk shrunk
shrive
shrove
shriven
sing
sang or sung
sung
sink
sank or sunk
sunk [adj. sunken]
sit
sat [sate]
sat
slay
slew
slain
slide
slid
slidden, slid
sling
slung
slung
slink
slunk
slunk
smite
smote
smitten
speak
spoke
spoken
spin
spun
spun
spring
sprang, sprung
sprung
stand
stood
stood
stave
stove (staved)
(staved)
steal
stole
stolen
stick
stuck
stuck
sting
stung
stung
stink
stunk, stank
stunk
stride
strode
stridden
strike
struck
struck, stricken
string
strung
strung
strive
strove
striven
swear
swore
sworn
swim
swam or swum
swum
swing
swung
swung
take
took
taken
tear
tore
torn
thrive
throve (thrived)
thriven (thrived)
throw
threw
thrown
tread
trod
trodden, trod
wear
wore
worn
weave
wove
woven
win
won
won
wind
wound
wound
wring
wrung
wrung
write
wrote
written
Remarks on Certain Verb Forms.
Sev
2 e
4 ra
6. l of the perfect participles are seldom used except as adjectives: as, "his bounden duty," "the cloven hoof," "a drunken wretch," "a sunken snag." Stricken is used mostly of diseases; as, "stricken with paralysis."
The verb bear (to bring forth) is peculiar in having one participle (borne) for the active, and another (born) for the
passive. When it means to carry or to endure, borne is also a passive.
The form clomb is not used in prose, but is much used in vulgar English, and sometimes occurs in poetry; as,—
Thou hast clomb aloft.—Wordsworth
Or pine grove whither woodman never clomb.—Coleridge
The forms of cleave are really a mixture of two verbs,—one meaning to adhere or cling; the other, to split. The former
used to be cleave, cleaved, cleaved; and the latter, cleave, clave or clove, cloven. But the latter took on the weak form
cleft in the past tense and past participle,—as (from Shakespeare), "O Hamlet! thou hast cleft my heart in twain,"—while
cleave (to cling) sometimes has clove, as (from Holmes), "The old Latin tutor clove to Virgilius Maro." In this confusion of
usage, only one set remains certain,—cleave, cleft, cleft (to split).
Crew is seldom found in present-day English.
Not a cock crew, nor a dog barked.—Irving.
Our cock, which always crew at eleven, now told us it was time for repose.—Goldsmith.
Historically, drunk is the one correct past participle of the verb drink. But drunk is very much used as an adjective,
instead of drunken (meaning intoxicated); and, probably to avoid confusion with this, drank is a good deal used as a past
participle: thus,—
We had each drank three times at the well.—B. Taylor.
This liquor was generally drank by Wood and Billings. —Thackeray.
Sometimes in literary English, especially in that of an earlier period, it is found that the verb eat has the past tense and
past participle eat (ĕt), instead of ate and eaten; as, for example,—
It ate the food it ne'er had eat.—Coleridge.
How fairy Mab the junkets eat.—Milton.
The island princes overbold
Have eat our substance.
—Tennyson.
This is also very much used in spoken and vulgar English.
The form gotten is little used, got being the preferred form of past participle as well as past tense. One example out of
many is,—
We had all got safe on shore.—De Foe.
Hung and hanged both are used as the past tense and past participle of hang; but hanged is the preferred form when
we speak of execution by hanging; as,
The butler was hanged.—Bible.
The verb sat is sometimes spelled sate; for example,—
Might we have sate and talked where gowans blow.—Wordsworth.
He sate him down, and seized a pen.—Byron.
"But I sate still and finished my plaiting."—Kingsley.
Usually shear is a weak verb. Shorn and shore are not commonly used: indeed, shore is rare, even in poetry.
This heard Geraint, and grasping at his sword,
Shore thro' the swarthy neck.
—Tennyson.
Shorn is used sometimes as a participial adjective, as "a shorn lamb," but not much as a participle. We usually say, "The
sheep were sheared" instead of "The sheep were shorn."
Went is borrowed as the past tense of go from the old verb wend, which is seldom used except in poetry; for example,—
If, maiden, thou would'st wend with me
To leave both tower and town.
—Scott.
Exercises.
(a) From the table (Sec. 245), make out lists of verbs having the same vowel changes as each of the following:—
1. Fall, fell, fallen.
2. Begin, began, begun.
3. Find, found, found.
4. Give, gave, given.
5. Drive, drove, driven.
6. Throw, threw, thrown.
7. Fling, flung, flung.
8. Break, broke, broken.
9. Shake, shook, shaken.
10. Freeze, froze, frozen.
(b) Find sentences using ten past-tense forms of strong verbs.
(c) Find sentences using ten past participles of strong verbs.
[To the Teacher,—These exercises should be continued for several lessons, for full drill on the forms.]
DEFECTIVE STRONG VERBS.
The
2 r
4e
7 .are several verbs which are lacking in one or more principal parts. They are as follows:—
PRESENT. PAST. PRESENT. PAST.
may
might [ought]
ought
can
could shal
should
[must]
must
wil
would
May
2
4 is
8. used as either indicative or subjunctive, as it has two meanings. It is indicative when it expresses permission, or,
as it sometimes does, ability, like the word can: it is subjunctive when it expresses doubt as to the reality of an action, or
when it expresses wish, purpose, etc.
If I may lightly employ the Miltonic figure, "far off his coming shines."—Winier.
Indicative Use: Permission. Ability.
A stripling arm might sway
A mass no host could raise.
—Scott.
His superiority none might question.—Channing.
In whatever manner the separate parts of a constitution may be arranged, there is one
Subjunctive use.
general principle, etc.—Paine.
And from her fair and unpolluted flesh
(See also Sec. 223.)
May violets spring!
—Shakespeare.
Can
2
4 is
9. used in the indicative only. The l in could did not belong there originally, but came through analogy with should
and would. Could may be subjunctive, as in Sec. 220.
Mus
2 t
5
0i.s historically a past-tense form, from the obsolete verb motan, which survives in the sentence, "So mote it be."
Must is present or past tense, according to the infinitive used.
All must concede to him a sublime power of action.—Channing
This, of course, must have been an ocular deception.—Hawthorne.
The
2
5sa
1. me remarks apply to ought, which is historically the past tense of the verb owe. Like must, it is used only in the
indicative mood; as,
The just imputations on our own faith ought first to be removed.... Have we valuable territories and
important posts...which ought long since to have been surrendered?—A. Hamilton.
It will be noticed that all the other defective verbs take the pure infinitive without to, while ought always has to.
Shall and Will.
The
2 p
5 r
2.incipal trouble in the use of shall and will is the disposition, especially in the United States, to use will and would,
to the neglect of shall and should, with pronouns of the first person; as, "I think I will go."
The following distinctions must be observed:—
Uses of shall and should.
(1) With the FIRST PERSON, shall and should are used,—
(a) In making simple statements or predictions about future time; as,—
Futurity and questions—first
person.
The time will come full soon, I shall be gone.—L. C. Moulton.
(b) In questions asking for orders, or implying obligation or authority resting upon the subject; as,—
With respect to novels, what shall I say?—N. Webster.
How shall I describe the luster which at that moment burst upon my vision?—C. Brockden Brown.
(2) With the SECOND AND THIRD PERSONS, shall and should are used,—
Second and third persons.
(a) To express authority, in the form of command, promise, or confident prediction. The
following are examples:—
Never mind, my lad, whilst I live thou shalt never want a friend to sta