VERBS AND VERBALS.

199. The term verb is from the Latin verbum meaning word: hence it is the word of a sentence. A thought cannot be expressed without a verb. When the child cries, "Apple!" it means, See the apple! or I have an apple! In the mariner's shout, "A sail!" the meaning is, "Yonder is a sail!"

Sentences are in the form of declarations, questions, or commands; and none of these can be put before the mind without the use of a verb.
200. The verb may not always be a single word. On account of the lack of inflections, verb phrases are very frequent. Hence the verb may consist of:

(1) One word; as, "The young man obeyed."

(2) Several words of verbal nature, making one expression; as, (a) "Some day it may be considered reasonable," (b) "Fearing lest he might have been anticipated."

(3) One or more verbal words united with other words to compose one verb phrase: as in the sentences, (a) "They knew well that this woman ruled over thirty millions of subjects;" (b) "If all the flummery and extravagance of an army were done away with, the money could be made to go much further;" (c) "It is idle cant to pretend anxiety for the better distribution of wealth until we can devise means by which this preying upon people of small incomes can be put a stop to."

In (a), a verb and a preposition are used as one verb; in (b), a verb, an adverb, and a preposition unite as a verb; in (c), an article, a noun, a preposition, are united with verbs as one verb phrase.
Definition and caution.

201. A verb is a word used as a predicate, to say something to or about some person or thing. In giving a definition, we consider a verb as one word.

Now, it is indispensable to the nature of a verb that it is "a word used as a predicate." Examine the sentences in Sec. 200: In (1), obeyed is a predicate; in (2, a), may be considered is a unit in doing the work of one predicate; in (2, b), might have been anticipated is also one predicate, but fearing is not a predicate, hence is not a verb; in (3, b), to go is no predicate, and not a verb; in (3, c), to pretend and preying have something of verbal nature in expressing action in a faint and general way, but cannot be predicates.

In the sentence, "Put money in thy purse," put is the predicate, with some word understood; as, "Put thou money in thy purse."
VERBS CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO MEANING AND USE.
TRANSITIVE AND INTRANSITIVE VERBS.
The nature of the transitive verb.

202. By examining a few verbs, it may be seen that not all verbs are used alike. All do not express action: some denote state or condition. Of those expressing action, all do not express it in the same way; for example, in this sentence from Bulwer,—"The proud lone took care to conceal the anguish she endured; and the pride of woman has an hypocrisy which can deceive the most penetrating, and shame the most astute,"—every one of the verbs in Italics has one or more words before or after it, representing something which it influences or controls. In the first, lone took what? answer, care; endured what? anguish; etc. Each influences some object, which may be a person, or a material thing, or an idea. Has takes the object hypocrisy; can deceive has an object, the most penetrating; (can) shame also has an object, the most astute.

In each case, the word following, or the object, is necessary to the completion of the action expressed in the verb.

All these are called transitive verbs, from the Latin transire, which means to go over. Hence
Definition.

203. A transitive verb is one which must have an object to complete its meaning, and to receive the action expressed.
The nature of intransitive verbs.

204. Examine the verbs in the following paragraph:—

She sprang up at that thought, and, taking the staff which always guided her steps, she hastened to the neighboring shrine of Isis. Till she had been under the guardianship of the kindly Greek, that staff had sufficed to conduct the poor blind girl from corner to corner of Pompeii.—Bulwer

In this there are some verbs unlike those that have been examined. Sprang, or sprang up, expresses action, but it is complete in itself, does not affect an object; hastened is similar in use; had been expresses condition, or state of being, and can have no object; had sufficed means had been sufficient, and from its meaning cannot have an object.

Such verbs are called intransitive (not crossing over). Hence
Definition.

205. An intransitive verb is one which is complete in itself, or which is completed by other words without requiring an object.
Study use, not form, of verbs here.

206. Many verbs can be either transitive or intransitive, according to their use in the sentence, It can be said, "The boy walked for two hours," or "The boy walked the horse;" "The rains swelled the river," or "The river swelled because of the rain;" etc.

The important thing to observe is, many words must be distinguished as transitive or intransitive by use, not by form.

207. Also verbs are sometimes made transitive by prepositions. These may be (1) compounded with the verb; or (2) may follow the verb, and be used as an integral part of it: for example,—

Asking her pardon for having withstood her.—Scott.

I can wish myself no worse than to have it all to undergo a second time.—Kingsley.

A weary gloom in the deep caverns of his eyes, as of a child that has outgrown its playthings.—Hawthorne.

It is amusing to walk up and down the pier and look at the countenances passing by.—B. Taylor.

He was at once so out of the way, and yet so sensible, that I loved, laughed at, and pitied him.—Goldsmith.

My little nurse told me the whole matter, which she had cunningly picked out from her mother.—Swift.
Exercises.

(a) Pick out the transitive and the intransitive verbs in the following:—

1. The women and children collected together at a distance.

2. The path to the fountain led through a grassy savanna.

3. As soon as I recovered my senses and strength from so sudden a surprise, I started back out of his reach where I stood to view him; he lay quiet whilst I surveyed him.

4. At first they lay a floor of this kind of tempered mortar on the ground, upon which they deposit a layer of eggs.

5. I ran my bark on shore at one of their landing places, which was a sort of neck or little dock, from which ascended a sloping path or road up to the edge of the meadow, where their nests were; most of them were deserted, and the great thick whitish eggshells lay broken and scattered upon the ground.

6. Accordingly I got everything on board, charged my gun, set sail cautiously, along shore. As I passed by Battle Lagoon, I began to tremble.

7. I seized my gun, and went cautiously from my camp: when I had advanced about thirty yards, I halted behind a coppice of orange trees, and soon perceived two very large bears, which had made their way through the water and had landed in the grove, and were advancing toward me.

(b) Bring up sentences with five transitive and five intransitive verbs.
VOICE, ACTIVE AND PASSIVE.
Meaning of active voice.

208. As has been seen, transitive verbs are the only kind that can express action so as to go over to an object. This implies three things,—the agent, or person or thing acting; the verb representing the action; the person or object receiving the act.

In the sentence, "We reached the village of Sorgues by dusk, and accepted the invitation of an old dame to lodge at her inn," these three things are found: the actor, or agent, is expressed by we; the action is asserted by reached and accepted; the things acted upon are village and invitation. Here the subject is represented as doing something. The same word is the subject and the agent. This use of a transitive verb is called the active voice.
Definition.

209. The active voice is that form of a verb which represents the subject as acting; or

The active voice is that form of a transitive verb which makes the subject and the agent the same word.
A question.

210. Intransitive verbs are always active voice. Let the student explain why.
Meaning of passive voice.

211. In the assertion of an action, it would be natural to suppose, that, instead of always representing the subject as acting upon some person or thing, it must often happen that the subject is spoken of as acted upon; and the person or thing acting may or may not be expressed in the sentence: for example,—

All infractions of love and equity in our social relations are speedily punished. They are punished by fear.—Emerson.

Here the subject infractions does nothing: it represents the object toward which the action of are punished is directed, yet it is the subject of the same verb. In the first sentence the agent is not expressed; in the second, fear is the agent of the same action.

So that in this case, instead of having the agent and subject the same word, we have the object and subject the same word, and the agent may be omitted from the statement of the action.

Passive is from the Latin word patior, meaning to endure or suffer; but in ordinary grammatical use passive means receiving an action.
Definition.

212. The passive voice is that form of the verb which represents the subject as being acted upon; or—

The passive voice is that form of the verb which represents the subject and the object by the same word.

Exercises.

(a) Pick out the verbs in the active and the passive voice:—

1. In the large room some forty or fifty students were walking about while the parties were preparing.

2. This was done by taking off the coat and vest and binding a great thick leather garment on, which reached to the knees.

3. They then put on a leather glove reaching nearly to the shoulder, tied a thick cravat around the throat, and drew on a cap with a large visor.

4. This done, they were walked about the room a short time; their faces all this time betrayed considerable anxiety.

5. We joined the crowd, and used our lungs as well as any.

6. The lakes were soon covered with merry skaters, and every afternoon the banks were crowded with spectators.

7. People were setting up torches and lengthening the rafts which had been already formed.

8. The water was first brought in barrels drawn by horses, till some officer came and opened the fire plug.

9. The exclusive in fashionable life does not see that he excludes himself from enjoyment, in the attempt to appropriate it.

(b) Find sentences with five verbs in the active and five in the passive voice.
MOOD.
Definition.

213. The word mood is from the Latin modus, meaning manner, way, method. Hence, when applied to verbs,—

Mood means the manner of conceiving and expressing action or being of some subject.
The three ways.

214. There are three chief ways of expressing action or being:—

(1) As a fact; this may be a question, statement, or assumption.

(2) As doubtful, or merely conceived of in the mind.

(3) As urged or commanded.
INDICATIVE MOOD.
Deals with facts.

215. The term indicative is from the Latin indicare (to declare, or assert). The indicative represents something as a fact,—
Affirms or denies.

(1) By declaring a thing to be true or not to be true; thus,—

Distinction is the consequence, never the object, of a great mind.—Allston.

I do not remember when or by whom I was taught to read; because I cannot and never could recollect a time when I could not read my Bible.—D. Webster.
Assumed as a fact.
Caution.

(2) By assuming a thing to be true without declaring it to be so. This kind of indicative clause is usually introduced by if (meaning admitting that, granting that, etc.), though, although, etc. Notice that the action is not merely conceived as possible; it is assumed to be a fact: for example,—

If the penalties of rebellion hung over an unsuccessful contest; if America was yet in the cradle of her political existence; if her population little exceeded two millions; if she was without government, without fleets or armies, arsenals or magazines, without military knowledge,—still her citizens had a just and elevated sense of her rights.—A. Hamilton.

(3) By asking a question to find out some fact; as,—

Is private credit the friend and patron of industry?—Hamilton.

With respect to novels what shall I say?—N. Webster.
Definition.

216 .The indicative mood is that form of a verb which represents a thing as a fact, or inquires about some fact.
SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD.
Meaning of the word.

217. Subjunctive means subjoined, or joined as dependent or subordinate to something else.
This meaning is misleading.

If its original meaning be closely adhered to, we must expect every dependent clause to have its verb in the subjunctive mood, and every clause not dependent to have its verb in some other mood.

But this is not the case. In the quotation from Hamilton (Sec. 215, 2) several subjoined clauses introduced by if have the indicative mood, and also independent clauses are often found having the verb in the subjunctive mood.
Cautions.

Three cautions will be laid down which must be observed by a student who wishes to understand and use the English subjunctive:—

(1) You cannot tell it always by the form of the word. The main difference is, that the subjunctive has no -s as the ending of the present tense, third person singular; as, "If he come."

(2) The fact that its clause is dependent or is introduced by certain words will not be a safe rule to guide you.

(3) The meaning of the verb itself must be keenly studied.
Definition.

218. The subjunctive mood is that form or use of the verb which expresses action or being, not as a fact, but as merely conceived of in the mind.