CHAPTER II. INFLECTIONS OF THE VERB. The English Verb is richer in forms than the Verb in any other European language. But it does not gain this wealth of expression by inflection, that is, by changing its endings; it gains it by employing other Verbs as helping Verbs or auxiliaries. Thus the European languages, which gain new powers and phrases for their Verbs chiefly by inflection, have no form for the expression, "He has been playing;" and such is also the case in other instances. We have seen in the first part of this Grammar that there is only one inflection for time or tense. That inflection is for the past tense alone. Thus we have write, wrote; strike, struck, and so on. But, when we want to express future time, we have to take a new Verb; and we are obliged to use the Verb shall, and to say I shall strike. The only other inflection which English Verbs possess is for the Participle. example, we have write, written; emite, smitten; hide, hidden. For It must be noticed that the conjugation of a Verb does not embrace all the combinations of a Verb. For example:-I can write, I may go, are mere combinations of can and may, with write and go. I can write, and I may go, and such other expressions are sometimes said to belong to the Potential Mood. But there is no necessity for such a mood. Moreover, there is no room for it. The moods of an English Verb use inflections to mark their differences from each other; while the tenses of the English Verb use auxiliaries. We know the moods, then, by their inflections; we know the tenses by their auxiliaries. I. PRESENT TENSE. a. Present Indefinite. [If*] I strike, Thou strike, He strike, &c. b. Present Incomplete. c. Present Complete. (Commonly called the Perfect). [If*] I have struck, Thou have struck, &c. d. Present Complete Continuous. [If*] I have been striking, Thou have been striking, &c. II. PAST TENSE. a. Past Indefinite. [If*] I struck, Thou struck, He struck, &c. * Or though, unless, &c. COMJUGATION OF AN ACTIVE VERB. b. Past Incomplete. (Commonly called the Imperfect). [If*] I were striking, Thou wert striking, &c. c. Past Complete. [If*] I had struck, Thou had struck, &c. d. Past Complete Continuous. [If*] I had been striking, Thou had been striking, &c. III.-FUTURE TENSE. a. Future Indefinite. [If*] I should strike, Thou should strike, &c. b. Future Incomplete. [If*] I should be striking, Thou should be striking, &c. c. Future Complete. [If*] I should have struck, Thou should have struck, &c. d. Future Complete Continuous. 11 [If*] I should have been striking, Thou should have been striking, &c. INFINITIVE MOOD. (In which the Verb sometimes takes the character of a Noun). I.-PRESENT TENSE. a. Present Indefinite. To strike. *Or though, unless, &c. |