= 18. The Verb [finite 1] is by far the most important word in a sentence. Without it no thought can be fully expressed, and it is sometimes adequate to the expression of an entire thought, as Amo I am loving,-Go = go thou. Indeed, the finite Verb is the only part of speech which is capable of alone forming the Grammatical Predicate, which grammatical predicate includes both the logical predicate and copula [§§ 3, 4]. As the Verb and Noun are the two great parts of speech, it is very important to notice wherein the difference between them really lies. That it does not lie in the formative suffix [§ 11] is clear when we notice that a noun stem may appear in a verb, as in 'I housed the furniture,' and that a verb stem must appear in a verbal noun, as in Writing is useful.' But it does lie in the addition of an inflectional suffix having the force of a personal pronoun. Where this mark of personal agency has been worn off, there is, apart from use, nothing in the mere form of the word to distinguish it from a noun. Thus, as standing by itself, 'love' may be either a noun or a verb; but 'loveth' [where the '-th' represents the old personal suffix] is unmistakably a verb. There is little doubt that the oldest verbs were 'self affecting,' so that the earliest personal endings probably consisted of a doubling of the appropriate pronominal root. We have no such Middle Voice' verbs remaining in English, but they are partially represented by the Reflexive verbs which abound in many modern languages. With these verbs, while there is both subject and object, there is no difference between that which forms the subject and that which forms the object. Hence it is not difficult to see how the Middle Voice may have branched 1 The Verb infinite is not properly a verb. It consists of verbal Nouns [called Infinitives, Gerunds, or Supines] and verbal Adjectives [called Participles]. We however often find it convenient to speak of such nouns and adjectives as 'Verbals.' C out [with some modifications of form] into the Active Voice on the one hand and into the Passive Voice on the other. Thus the Reflexives 'I remember me,' and 'I employ myself,' open out into the Active 'I remember,' and the Passive 'I am employed.' In Latin the ancient Middle Voice [e.g. ‘reminiscor' I remember me; 'utor' I employ myself], which is now represented by the so-called Deponent verbs, has lent its form to the Passive, even while its meaning may have become exclusively Active, e.g. 'prædor' = I plunder. See also § 21. = = We have noticed the decay of the old Aryan declension and the replacement of most of the cases by periphrastic forms, consisting mainly of prepositional phrases: and we must now observe that a similar change has taken place with the Conjugation, where single words have been to an enormous extent replaced by periphrastic combinations, consisting chiefly of pronouns, auxiliaries, and participles. The reduction of eight old Aryan cases of nouns to one in Modern English was great ; but such a reduction is felt to be insignificant in comparison with what must have taken place in the Conjugation, when we notice that, while the English verb has five forms [i.e. love, lovest, loves, loved, loving]; the Greek verb has about twelve hundred' [Farrar]. The O.E. has twelve forms, against the modern five [i.e. lufige, lufast, lufað, lufiað; lufode, lufodest, lufodon, lufa; lufod; lufigende], exclusive of the infinitive with its dative inflection. The etymological origin of the forms, which have with more or less exactness become appropriated to the expression of Tense and Mood, lies beyond the range of our introductory sketch. It is however of great importance that in the following sections a clear view should be given of their grammatical nature and general scope. 19. The Tenses are forms of the Verb which enable us to indicate the State of an action in either a hypothetical or cate gorical sentence, and the Time of an action in a categorical sentence. Thus it is only in the Indicative that tenses truly indicate time. a. The most natural conception we can form of the State of an action is that it is Entire [i.e. Simple], Completed [i.e. Perfect], Progressing [i.e. Imperfect], or Undertaken [i.e. Inceptive], as But as any of these may belong to the past, the present, or the future, we have twelve forms, viz. B. The simplest conception we can have of the Time of an entire action is that it is in the Past, the Present, or the Future, and so the forms which do no more than indicate this much are called Simple or Absolute tenses. But an action often calls for a much more definite location in time than is afforded by the mere indication of its being in the past, present, or future. Such a farther indication is obtained by mentioning some other action, having some temporal relation to the first act. In fact, to use an engineering illustration, we construc a Time Scale, of which the alternate intervals represent the unoccupied time following on some completed act, the occupied time covered by some progressing act, or again the unoccupied time preceding some impending act; and then we definitely locate the Simple act by noting where it cuts across the scale. Thus, if the act be located during the time which commences with the completion of another action, we have a Simple tense associated with a Perfect tense, as I wrote [Simple], after you had gone [Perfect]. Again, if it be located during the time at which another action is progressing, we have a Simple tense associated with an Imperfect tense, as I wrote [Simple], while you were sleeping [Imperfect]. Again, if it be located during the time which precedes the commencement of another action, we have a Simple tense associated with an Inceptive tense, as I wrote [Simple] when you were about to leave [Inceptive]. It is from this use of the Perfect, Imperfect, and Inceptive forms, that they acquire their name of Relative tenses: and it is obvious that, in regard to any act cutting across the time scale, they are relatively past, present, or future. The relative tenses are, through the presence of an obvious ellipsis, very often found to stand alone, e.g. 'He was suffering [at the time of which I speak]'; 'I have [even as I speak] written my letter.' Again, two relative tenses may as it were run parallel to one another, e.g. 'I was working, while you were sleeping.' The obvious meaning of a speaker often infuses what is really a foreign meaning into a tense. Thus we sometimes find a Perfect assuming the complexion of a Severed Imperfect, e.g. ‘I have written [ = have been writing] for six hours, and cannot go on much longer.' The following table serves, not only to illustrate, but also to form the best possible memorial arrangement of the above tenses. |