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ave experienced many trials and difficulties in life, is, that happiness 3 to be found in rest. But, as has been pointedly remarked, that man 3 most restless, who is most at rest.-Buckminster.

Mark but my fall, and that that ruined me.
Cromwell, I charge thee, fling away ambition!
By that sin fell the angels.-Shakspeare.

Motionless torrents! silent cataracts!

Who made you glorious as the gates of heaven
Beneath the keen full moon? Who bade the sun
Clothe you with rainbows?-Coleridge.

Ay! Heaven had set one living man
Beyond the pedant's tether—
His virtues, frailties, He will scan,
Who weighs them all together!

I fling my pebble on the cairn,
Of him though dead, undying-
Sweet Nature's nursling, bonniest bairn,
Beneath her daisies lying.-Holmes.

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VERBS.

80. Definitions and Distinctions.

1. A verb is a word which expresses being, action, or state; as, be, read, sleep, is loved.

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2. The being, action, or state may be affirmed, assumed, or used abstractly; as, George runs." 66 To run. George running." When an affirmation is made, the verb is either the predicate or copula of the proposition, and is said to be finite; when the action of the verb is assumed, it takes the construction of the adjective, is joined to the subject, and is called a participle; when it is used abstractly, it is separated from the subject, and being unlimited by its person or number, it is said to be infinitive (unlimited).

3. Affirm, as here used, includes an absolute declaration; as, "Mary learns ;"'—a conditional statement; as, "If Mary learns ;"—an interrogation; as, "Does Mary learn?"- -a petition; as, "May Mary learn ;". a command; as, "Mary, learn."

Verbs. Different uses of the being, action, or state. Meaning of "affirm.”

4. Strictly speaking, a word expressing being, action, &c., is a verb only when it has also the power to affirm. This would exclude the participle and the infinitive, and make them both participles, as they really are. They are then forms derived from the verb; but as these are commonly included with the verb, the foregoing definition is adopted.

5. The abstract or substantive verb is the pure verb BE, called the copula, having no other power or value than to assert some attribute of a noun. When the attribute is a quality, this verb must always be used; as, "Lead is heavy;" but when the attribute is an action, it may blend with the verb be, and then both become one word; as, "The sun is rising." "The sun rises." The combined form then takes the name of verb, and undergoes inflections to represent voice, mode, tense, number,; and person; in all other cases, the verb to be undergoes these variations. These verbs are called attributive, because to the pure verb they join an attribute.

6. The verb to be is attributive, whenever it is used to assert existence; as, "There was a man sent from God." When thus used, the verb is commonly followed by its subject, and preceded by the expletive "there," which serves no other purpose than to introduce the sentence, and indicate this peculiarity of the verb.

7. Every finite verb represents some person or thing, as acting or existing in a certain state, and that which represents this person or thing is called the subject; as, "Frank plays." "She sleeps."

81. Exercise.

1. Point out the verbs and their subjects in the following examples :— The clouds vanish. The vapor rises. The plant lives. Flowers die. Children sing. They stand. Can you see? Here they are! The ice melts.

2. Write appropriate verbs for the following nouns as subjects :—

Samuel, the pen, the book, flowers, we, oceans, moon, the earth, forests, the king, Victoria.

3. Write appropriate nouns, as subjects for the following verbs :

Rules, is, thinks, hopes, learns, shine, grow, dig, revolve, sits, fears, blossom, arise, sink.

4. Point out the verbs on page

in your Reader, and tell the subjects.

NOTE. Let the Teacher assign this lesson.

The substantive verb "to be." The verb "to be" attributive. The subject of the verb.

82. Verbs classified by their use.

1. Verbs are divided, according to their use, into transitive and transitive.

2. A transitive verb requires the addition of an object to comlete its meaning; as, "The servant opened the door.”

3. An intransitive verb does not require the addition of an ɔject to complete its meaning; as, "The sun rises." "The

orse runs."

4. Verbs may be divided, on account of their relation to the subject, ito,

(a.) The abstract or substantive verb BE, which represents no attribute of e subject whatever, but serves as a copula, or link, to bind the attribute to le subject.

(b.) Attributive or mixed verbs, in which an attribute denoting an action or cate of the subject is blended with the copula; as, runs is running; is eing the copula, and running the attribute.

5. Attributive verbs, including also the copula to be, have been divided, rith reference to the subject, into those which represent the subject in n active state (active verbs); those which represent it in a passive state, hat is, in such a state as to receive or suffer an action (passive verbs); nd those which represent the subject in neither of these states (neuter erbs); that is, a state in which it neither acts nor receives the effect f an action. But this distinction has little to do with the construction f language. It is the relation of the verb to a succeeding term, the bject, that renders a classification important.

REMARK.-The old division is retained in the dictionaries, and the learner hould understand, in consulting a dictionary, that c. a. after a verb is equivaent to transitive, v. n. to intransitive. Thus, run, fly, walk, though they represent the subject in a very active state, are marked v. n. — verb neuter.

6. The terms transitive and intransitive have been generally adopted by recent grammarians, as best suited to the purposes of construction. Although the idea of an act originating in an agent, and "passing over" to an object, seems inapplicable to such verbs as have, posses, receive, acquire, and many others, still the terms, as defined above, are liable to little or no objection.

7. The subdivision of verbs into active-transitive and active-intransitive, is not only needless, but partial in its application. The distinction is made to apply exclusively to active verbs; whereas it may apply as well to neuter as to active verbs. In the sentence, "The son resembles his father," no one will maintain that resembles is any more an active verb than sleeps. Yet it is transitive, and, to be consistent, we ought to have

Transitive and intransitive verbs. Relation of the verb to the subject. Active-transitive and active-intransitive verbs.

neuter-transitive and neuter-intransitive. By omitting the words active and neuter altogether, we have a practical division, and one of universal application.

8. The object or complement of the transitive verb stands as an answer to the question What? with the verb; as, "The ox eats" (What ?) hay, grass, oats, corn, &c. To determine whether a verb is transitive or intransitive, we have only to use this test: ask with it the question What? or Whom? and if the sense requires that a noun or pronoun, meaning, a different thing from the subject, should be added, it is transitive: otherwise it is intransitive.

9. When the noun or pronoun thus added means the same person er thing as the subject, it is not the object, but is a predicate-nominative, and the verb is either intransitive, or transitive in the passive voice. All such verbs perform the office of the copula, and are, hence, called copulative verbs. These are be (the simple copula), become, seem, appear, stand, walk, and other verbs of position, motion, and condition; the pas sive verbs-is called, is named, is styled, is appointed, is constituted, is elected, is chosen, is made, is esteemed, is reckoned, and others.

10. A transitive verb in a proposition necessarily implies three terms || -a subject or agent, a predicate, and an object. When the verb assumes the passive form, the foregoing order is inverted, and we have an object. a predicate, and a subject or agent; as, "The locusts (agent = sub.) devoured (pred.) the grass" (obj.) The grass (obj. = sub.) was devoured (pred.) by the locusts (agent). An intransitive verb requires but two terms, a subject and predicate, and as it cannot assume the passive form (except by the aid of a preposition) (77, 9), the terms can undergo no such change as above.

11. Many verbs are transitive in one signification, and intransitive in another. When the object is not necessarily implied, it is better to consider such verbs intransitive, and not transitive, because an object may be supplied; as, "She sings beautifully" (intransitive). She sings

soprano" (transitive).

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12. Some verbs, usually intransitive, become transitive when used with a causative signification; as, The train usually runs at the rate of twenty-five miles an hour; but they ran a train (caused it run) at the rate of forty." Some verbs become transitive when they take an object after them of a kindred signification; as, "He ran a race, played a game."

83. Exercise.

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1. Tell which of the following verbs are transitive, which intransitive :Anna loves her mother. The golden gates open. The moon silvers

Object of transitive verbs.

The predicate-nominative. Subject, predicate, and object. The same verb sometimes transitive, and sometimes intransitive Causative verbs.

The

le distant hills. Mary has found her ring. Eleanor writes poetry. he snow melts. The icy fetters break. The innocent lamb dies. hild plays. The fragrant flowers bloom. She received a letter. Does aul live there?

2. Write an appropriate subject and object for each of the following verbs:— Rings, learn, find, hide, fears, remembers, inflicts, receives, lift, hears, enews, reviews, write.

MODEL. The sexton rings the bell.

3. Point out the transitive and intransitive verbs in the following examples; lso the subject of each verb, and the object, if it has one :—

O spare me, that I may recover strength before I go hence, and be

10 more.

Awake! arise! or be for ever fallen!

Hannibal passed through Gaul, crossed the Alps, came down into Italy, and defeated several Roman generals; but he could not conquer the country, nor take the city of Rome.

Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his. Hands of angels hidden from mortal eyes, shifted the scenery of the heavens; the glories of night dissolved into the glories of the dawn. The blue sky now turned more softly gray; the great watch-stars shut up their holy eyes, the east began to kindle, and soon the whole celestial concave was filled with the inflowing tides of the morning light.—Everett.

The shadow of departed hours

Hangs dim upon thine early flowers,
Even in thy sunshine, seems to brood
Something too deep for solitude.-Hemans.

84. Verbs classified by their form.

1. Verbs are divided, according to their form, into regular and irregular.

2. A regular verb is one which forms its past tense, and past participle, by adding ed (25, 3) to the present tense; as, love, loved, loved; gain, gained, gained.

3. An irregular verb is one which does not form its past tense and past participle by the addition of ed to the present tense; as, see, saw, seen; write, wrote, written.

4. A defective verb is one in which some of the parts are wanting; as, may, might (participle wanting).

Regular and irregular verbs. Defective verbs.

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