CHAPTER XVIII

VERBS

     422.   The life of a sentence is the verb that it contains; if we take that away, no matter how many words remain, the meaning is generally gone.

A. KINDS.

     423.   We have already found that the verb alone is sometimes quite enough to make a finished predicate; as in —
The earth revolves.   The sun rises.
But sometimes it seems only to have begun what another word must finish; as in —
The sun gives — light.   The earth is — a sphere.
Hence we class verbs as Complete and Incomplete.
     424.   Incomplete verbs, or those that need complements, are again divided into classes as follows: —
     Copulative verbs that need a complement to describe what the subject refers to; as, —
Fire is hot. — We were without food.   Heat is a force.
     Transitive verbs that need an object to show what the action affects; as, —
The sun gives light. — Burn the trees.
     425.   Of these three kinds of verbs, complete, compulative, and transitive, the two that are not complete may, of course, be called incomplete, and the two that are not transitive may be called intransitive.

EXERCISE 279.

     426.   Copulative Verbs.   No verb is always copulative, and only a small number are ever so; one of them however is extremely common, namely, be, which — with its various forms, am, is, was, were, etc. — helps to make many verb phrases; as in —
“We are waiting,” for “We wait.”
     ( a ) Be is sometimes used like “exist” as a complete verb with more of a basic meaning; as in —
The time was, when no one lived here;   There is a God;
but generally it seems only to connect the subject to what is asserted of it.
     ( b ) Be enters into the meaning of all other copulative verbs. Thus: —
He appeared wise.= He was wise in appearance.
The clouds look distant.= The clouds are distant in the sight.
The water tastes bitter.= The water is bitter to the taste.
     So with feel, sound, smell, become, seem, etc.

EXERCISE 280.

     427.   Transitive Verbs.   Verbs that are usually transitive may also be used intransitively; i.e., they may signify merely that something is done, nothing being said about what is affected by the action. So we may say, —
“He stayed his anger.”or   “He seldom stayed.”
“He speaks English.”or   “He speaks slowly.”
     428.   Even verbs that are usually intransitive may sometimes take an object. Thus: —
     Sit thee down.   She worked herself to death.   They live a dreary life, and are running a hopeless race.   Walk your horses up hill.
     429.   Other Complements. Many transitive verbs take an objective complement — one descriptive of what the object names. [See § 313.]   Some transitive verbs take an indirect object to mention a person involved or interested in the action of the verb. [See § 302.]   These and many other verbs take an object which is introduced with a preposition. [See for example § 304a and § 504.]

EXERCISE 281.

B. INFLECTION: CHANGES IN FORM.

     430.   As with nouns and pronouns, so with verbs, each has several forms made by inflection to correspond to changes in the use or in the meaning.

1. TENSE FORMS.

EXERCISE 282.

     431.   Nearly every verb has one change of form that affects the meaning as much as if it were modified by an adverb. Thus, speaking of the present time, we say, —
I come;   I wait;   I stay;
but if it was at some time in the past that the coming, waiting, or staying took place, we say, —
I came;   I waited;   I stayed;
     432.   Forms that are changed to express a difference in time are called Tenses, which means times.

EXERCISE 283.

     433.   The Present tense of a verb is the form that generally refers to present time. As, —
I stand;   I work;   I live;
     434.   The present tense is sometimes used of what is past or future to make it seem present or distinct; as, —
In the fifteenth century a new era begins.
We leave the city tomorrow.
     435.   In form the present tense is like the simple infinitive, or root, from which all other forms are derived.
     436.   The Past tense of a verb is the form that generally refers to past time. As, —
I stood;   I worked;   I lived.
     437.   The past tense is sometimes used of what is really present or future to make it seem doubtful; as, —
If I were well today —     If I should go tomorrow —
     438.   The common or regular way of changing the present to the past form is by adding -d or -ed at the end. Thus: —
I lived;   I borrowed;   I waited.
     But in a number of the oldest verbs the change appears in the middle of the word, whether anything is added or not. Thus: —
stand, stood;   fall, fell;   see, saw.

EXERCISE 284.

     439.   About twenty verbs cannot be changed in this way, and the time is therfore shown by something besides the form; as, —
Now we spread our tents.     We spread them yesterday.
     In such cases we may call the form present or past according to its use.
     440.   Tenses are the forms of a verb that distinguish time.

2. MOOD.

     441.   If we study verbs in sentences, we find them used to predicate in several ways or modes. Thus, they may be used —
     1.   To command, as in “Be ready”; “Wish with me.”
     2. ( a )   To assert positively, as in “I am ready”; “She wishes it.”
         ( b )   To question, as in “Am I ready?” “Who wishes this?”
     3.   To say something doubtfully, as if only thought of; as in — “If it be there, I will bring it”; “If I were ready, I would go.”
     442.   It was once the custom to use in such cases quite different forms of the verb called — not tenses to show times — but Moods to show the manner or mood in which a person spoke. Even nowadays the forms are not always the same, and hence we may say that —
     443.   I.   A verb used to express a command or a request is in the Imperative mood. As, —
Go quickly.     Come with me.   Be honest.
     444.   II.   A verb used either (1) to state something as a fact, or (2) to ask a simple question, is in the Indicative mood. As, —
He goes quickly.     Does she wish it?
If she was there, I failed to see her.
Most sentences are, as we know, of this kind.
     445.   III.   A verb used to express in a doubtful way either (1) what is uncertain and to be decided in the future, or (2) a supposition that is contrary to fact, or (3) a wish, is in the Subjunctive mood. As, —
     (1) Though he be dead, we shall find him.   Even if he fail, he will not despair.   (2) If she were willing, I would help her.   (3) I wish I were well.   Thy kingdom come.
Sentences of this kind are comparatively rare.
     446.   We know that the order of words may distinguish an assertion from a question; as in —
“Does he drive?”     He does drive.
and also that the dropping of the subject may distinguish an assertion from a command; as in —
“You drive every day”;     “Drive every day.”
     Now commonly there is nothing about the form of a verb to show in what manner it is used; but still there are a few special forms in the indicative mood, so that even now the form does sometimes vary with different modes of speaking. Thus: —
INDICATIVE FORMS.
1.   Thy foe appears; advance.
2.   Thine enemy thirsts; give him drink.
3.   He telleth all our plans.
4.   He said he was to stay.
5.   I know what the result is.
INDICATIVE FORM.
1.   Thou keepest my feet from falling.
SUBJUNCTIVE FORMS.
1.   If thy foe appear; advance.
2.   If thine enemy thirst; give him drink.
3.   See that he tell no man our plans.
4.   He said if he were to stay, ….
5.   Whatever be the result ….
IMPERATIVE FORM.
1.   Keep thou my feet from falling.
     447.   When used with the same subject, such forms as appears, thirsts, telleth, was, is, am, art, are, belong only to the indicative mood; such forms as appear, thirst, tell, were, be, belong only to the Subjunctive mood. Forms like keep instead of keepest belong to the Imperative mood. [For Potential phrases, see § 483.]
     448.   Mood is the power of a verb to denote the manner of speaking.

EXERCISE 285.

3. NUMBER AND PERSON.

     449.   The differences in the special indicative forms of a verb depend on what its subject is. Thus, in the present tense we say, —
I, we, you, they, or the men stay; but
He, she, it, or the man stays, —
using a special form made by adding -s or -es whenever the subject is a third singular pronoun or a singular noun.
     450.   As this special form is never used except with a subject denoting the third person and the singular number, it is called the third singular form. It is also calle the s-form, because it always ends in -s.

EXERCISE 286.

     451.   Changes to suit the person and number of the subject were once much more common than now, and two old style forms such as we see in the Bible, are still used, though usually only in prayer and in poetry. Thus: —
     ( a )   With thou as subject the verb takes the ending -st or -est in both the present and past indicative tenses. For example: —
Thou waitest.Thou waitedst.Thou goest.Thou stoodest;
and ( b ) instead of the customary third singular form in -s, a form ending in -th or -eth may be used in the present tense. Thus: —
She giveth.He goeth.The wind bloweth.
     EXCEPTION.   The verb be keeps many of its old changes of form, as shown in § 467.
     452.   The meaning of the verb is hardly affected by such changes, for they only show to which one or to how many the statement applies; but as they are made according to the meaning of the subject, that is sometimes said “to govern” the verb, and the verb is said “to agree with its subject.”

4. VERBAL NOUNS AND VERBAL ADJECTIVES.

     453.   By inflecting a verb in these different ways, we change the form, the application, and sometimes the use of it; but so long as it can predicate in any way, it still remains a verb.
     We now come to certain other verbal forms that do not predicate anything, and therefore are not verbs like the rest.

EXERCISE 287.

     454.   From almost every verb are formed two special kinds of verbal words having the use of other parts of speech.
     Thus, besides true verbs drives, drove, we have the two nouns, driving and (to) drive, that name theaction expressed by the verb; as in —
Driving is pleasant;     I like to drive.
and two adjectives, driving; and driven, that describe either the actor or the receiver of the action; as in —
A man driving a car;     Snow driven by the wind.
     455.   Such nouns and adjectives as these differ from all others that are derived from verbs, since they may be formed from almost any verb; and, what is still more important to notice, they may have the same modifiers and complements that their corresponding verbs have. Thus: —
     (1)   The nouns, if derived from transitive verbs, may take an object. As in —
Driving fast cars is pleasant;
and they always may be modified by an adverb. As in —
I like to drive slowly.
Here driving and to drive are used as subject and object, respectively; but, like verbs, they express action as passing over to something else, or as going on in different ways.
     (2)   So with adjectives, we may say, —
“a man beating a dog, or “a dog cruelly beaten.”
Here beating and beaten describe the man and the dog like adjectives, and are modified like verbs. There is no assertion in either expression, yet we think of the man as acting and of the dog as acted upon, as much as if a verb were used.

EXERCISE 288.

     456.   Of the two nouns regularly formed from verbs one is called an Infinitive and the other a Gerund.
     457.   1.   The infinitive is the root or simplest form of the verb, either with or without the sign to before it; as, —
(to) drive, (to) spin, (to) sleep, (to) walk
This is sometimes called the root infinitive.
     2.   The Gerund is formed with the ending -ing; as, —
driving, spinning, sleeping, walking.
     This is sometimes called the infinitive in ing. It is often treated in all respects like a noun (§ 270), having similar uses and modifiers. Thus: —
( Rapid ) driving ( in crowded streets ) is dangerous.

EXERCISE 289.

     458.   An Infinitive and a Gerund are verbal nouns that name the action or condition expressed by the verb, and take the same complements and modifiers.
     The word “infinitive” means infinite, unlimited. It is applied to the first noun form because the idea of the verb is never limited as to person and number. The word “gerund” means fit to bear. It is applied to the second noun form because the verb can carry its modifiers and complements with it.
     459.   The two adjectives regularly formed from verbs are called Participles.
     460.   One participle describes a person or thing as continuing an action. It is called the active or present participle, and always ends in -ing; as, —
driving, spinning, sleeping, walking.
     461.   The other participle is called the passive or past participle, because what it decribes is regarded either ( a ) as having received the action expressed by the verb; as in —
Threads are spun,     Cars are driven.
or else ( b ) as having completed some action; as in —
One who has walked or slept.
     This participle usually ends in -t, -d, or -n.
     The names imperfect and perfect are also used.

EXERCISE 290.

     462.   A Participle is a verbal adjective. It shares or participates in the nature of a verb and of an adjective.
     463.   These verbal nouns and adjectives are given along with other verb forms, because —
     (1)   They are made from almost every verb;
     (2)   Most verb phrases are formed by help of them; and —
     (3)   They take the same kind of complements and modifiers that verbs take.

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