The Grammar of English Grammars Part 69

1. If I be, 1. If we be, 2. If thou be, 2. If you be, 3. If he be; 3. If they be.

IMPERFECT TENSE.

_Singular_. _Plural_.

1. If I were,[263] 1. If we were, 2. If thou were, _or_ wert,[264] 2. If you were, 3. If he were; If they were.

IMPERATIVE MOOD.

PRESENT TENSE.

_Singular_. 2. Be [thou,] _or_ Do thou be; _Plural_. 2. Be [ye _or_ you,] _or_ Do you be.

PARTICIPLES.

1. _The Imperfect_. 2. _The Perfect_. 3. _The Preperfect_.

Being. Been. Having been.

FAMILIAR FORM WITH 'THOU.'

NOTE.--In the familiar style, the second person singular of this verb, is usually and more properly formed thus: IND. Thou art, Thou was, Thou hast been, Thou had been, Thou shall _or_ will be, Thou shall _or_ will have been. POT. Thou may, can, _or_ must be; Thou might, could, would, _or_ should be; Thou may, can, _or_ must have been; Thou might, could, would, _or_ should have been. SUBJ. If thou be, If thou were. IMP. Be [thou,] _or_ Do thou be.

OBSERVATIONS.

OBS. 1.--It appears that _be_, as well as _am_, was formerly used for the indicative present: as, "I be, Thou beest, He be; We be, Ye be, They be."

See _Brightland's Gram._, p. 114. Dr. Lowth, whose Grammar is still preferred at Harvard University, gives both forms, thus: "I am, Thou art, He is; We are, Ye are, They are. Or, I be, Thou beest, He _is_; We be, Ye be, They be." To the third person singular, he subjoins the following example and remark: "'I think it _be_ thine indeed, for thou liest in it.'

Shak. Hamlet. _Be_, in the singular number of this time and mode, especially in the third person, is obsolete; and _is become_ somewhat antiquated _in the plural_."--_Lowth's Gram._, p. 36. Dr. Johnson gives this tense thus: "_Sing_. I am; thou art; he is; _Plur_. We are, _or_ be; ye are, _or_ be; they are, _or_ be." And adds, "The plural _be_ is now little in use."--_Gram. in Johnson's Dict._, p. 8. The Bible commonly has _am, art, is_, and _are_, but not always; the indicative _be_ occurs in some places: as, "We _be_ twelve brethren."--_Gen._, xlii, 32. "What _be_ these two olive branches?"--_Zech._, iv, 12. Some traces of this usage still occur in poetry: as,

"There _be_ more things to greet the heart and eyes In Arno's dome of Art's most princely shrine, Where Sculpture with her rainbow sister vies; There _be_ more marvels yet--but not for mine."

--_Byron's Childe Harold_, Canto iv, st. 61.

OBS. 2.--Respecting the verb _wert_, it is not easy to determine whether it is most properly of the indicative mood only, or of the subjunctive mood only, or of both, or of neither. The _regular_ and _a.n.a.logical_ form for the indicative, is "Thou _wast_;" and for the subjunctive, "If thou _were_." Brightland exhibits, "I _was_ or _were_, Thou _wast_ or _wert_, He _was_ or _were_," without distinction of mood, for the three persons singular; and, for the plural, _were_ only. Dr. Johnson gives us, for the indicative, "Thou wast, _or_ wert;" with the remark, "_Wert_ is properly of the _conjunctive_ mood, and ought not to be used in the indicative."--_Johnson's Gram._, p. 8. In his conjunctive (or subjunctive) mood, he has, "Thou _beest_," and "Thou _wert_." So Milton wrote, "If thou _beest_ he."--_P. Lost_, B. i, l. 84. Likewise Shakspeare: "If thou _beest_ Stephano."--_Tempest_. This inflection of _be_ is obsolete: all now say, "If thou _be_." But _wert_ is still in use, to some extent, _for both moods_; being generally placed by the grammarians in the subjunctive only, but much oftener written for the indicative: as, "Whate'er thou art or _wert_."--_Byron's Harold_, Canto iv, st. 115. "O thou that _wert_ so happy!"--_Ib._, st. 109. "Vainly _wert_ thou wed."--_Ib._, st. 169.

OBS. 3.--Dr. Lowth gave to this verb, BE, that form of the subjunctive mood, which it now has in most of our grammars; appending to it the following examples and questions: "'Before the sun, Before the Heavens, thou _wert_.'--_Milton_. 'Remember what thou _wert_.'--_Dryden_. 'I knew thou _wert_ not slow to hear.'--_Addison_. 'Thou who of old _wert_ sent to Israel's court.'--_Prior_. 'All this thou _wert_.'--_Pope_. 'Thou, Stella, _wert_ no longer young.'--_Swift_. Shall we, in deference to these great authorities," asks the Doctor, "allow _wert_ to be the same with _wast_, and common to the indicative and [the] subjunctive mood? or rather abide by the practice of our best ancient writers; the propriety of the language, which requires, as far as may be, distinct forms, for different moods; and the a.n.a.logy of formation in each mood; I _was_, thou _wast_; I _were_, thou _wert_? all which conspire to make _wert_ peculiar to the subjunctive mood."--_Lowth's Gram._, p. 37; _Churchill's_, p. 251. I have before shown, that several of the "best ancient writers" _did not inflect_ the verb _were_, but wrote "_thou were_;" and, surely, "the a.n.a.logy of formation,"

requires that the subjunctive _be not inflected_. Hence "the propriety which requires distinct forms," requires not _wert_, in either mood. Why then should we make this contraction of the old indicative form _werest_, a _solitary exception_, by fixing it in the subjunctive only, and that in opposition to the best authorities that ever used it? It is worthier to take rank with its kindred _beest_, and be called an _archaism_.

OBS. 4.--The chief characteristical difference between the indicative and the subjunctive mood, is, that in the latter the verb is _not inflected at all_, in the different persons: IND. "Thou _magnifiest_ his work." SUBJ.

"Remember that thou _magnify_ his work."--_Job_, x.x.xvi, 24. IND. "He _cuts_ off, _shuts_ up, and _gathers_ together." SUBJ. "If he _cut_ off, and _shut_ up, or _gather_ together, then who can hinder him?"--_Job_, xl, 10.

There is also a difference of meaning. The Indicative, "If he _was_,"

admits the fact; the Subjunctive, "If he _were_," supposes that he was not. These moods may therefore be distinguished by the sense, even when their forms are alike: as, "Though _it thundered_, it did not rain."--"Though _it thundered_, he would not hear it." The indicative a.s.sumption here is, "Though it _did thunder_," or, "Though there _was thunder_;" the subjunctive, "Though it _should thunder_," or, "Though there _were_ thunder." These senses are clearly different. Writers however are continually confounding these moods; some in one way, some in an other.

Thus S. R. Hall, the teacher of a _Seminary for Teachers_: "SUBJ. _Present Tense_. 1. If I be, _or_ am, 2. If thou be, _or_ art, 3. If he be, _or_ is; 1. If we be, _or_ are, 2. If ye _or_ you be, _or_ are, 3. If they be, _or_ are. _Imperfect Tense_. 1. If I were, _or_ was, 2. If thou wert, _or_ wast, 3. If he were, _or_ was; 1. If we were, 2. If ye _or_ you were, 3. If they were."--_Hall's Grammatical a.s.sistant_, p. 11. Again: "SUBJ. _Present Tense_. 1. If I love, 2. If thou _lovest_, 3. If he love," &c. "The remaining tenses of this _mode_, are, _in general_, similar to the correspondent tenses of the Indicative _mode, only_ with the conjunction prefixed."--_Ib._, p. 20. Dr. Johnson observes, "The indicative and conjunctive moods are by modern writers frequently confounded; or rather the conjunctive is wholly neglected, when some convenience of versification does not invite its revival. It is used among the purer writers of former times; as, 'Doubtless thou art our father, though Abraham _be_ ignorant of us, and Israel _acknowledge_ us not.'"--_Gram. in Joh. Dict._, p. 9. To neglect the subjunctive mood, or to confound it with the indicative, is to augment several of the worst faults of the language.

II. COMPOUND OR PROGRESSIVE FORM.

Active and neuter verbs may also be conjugated, by adding the Imperfect Participle to the auxiliary verb BE, through all its changes; as, "I _am writing_ a letter."--"He _is sitting_ idle."--"They _are going_." This form of the verb denotes a _continuance_ of the action or state of being, and is, on many occasions, preferable to the simple form of the verb.

FOURTH EXAMPLE.

_The irregular active verb READ, conjugated affirmatively, in the Compound Form._

PRINc.i.p.aL PARTS OF THE SIMPLE VERB.

_Present._ _Preterit._ _Imp. Participle._ _Perf. Participle._ R=ead. R~ead. R=eading. R~ead.

INFINITIVE MOOD.

PRESENT TENSE.

To be reading.

PERFECT TENSE.

To have been reading.

INDICATIVE MOOD.

PRESENT TENSE.

_Singular._ _Plural._ 1. I am reading, 1. We are reading, 2. Thou art reading, 2. You are reading, 3. He is reading; 3. They are reading.

IMPERFECT TENSE.

_Singular._ _Plural._ 1. I was reading, 1. We were reading, 2. Thou wast reading, 2. You were reading, 3. He was reading; 3. They were reading.

PERFECT TENSE.

_Singular._ _Plural._ 1. I have been reading, 1. We have been reading, 2. Thou hast been reading, 2. You have been reading, 3. He has been reading; 3. They have been reading.

PLUPERFECT TENSE.

_Singular._ _Plural._ 1. I had been reading, 1. We had been reading, 2. Thou hadst been reading, 2. You had been reading, 3. He had been reading; 3. They had been reading.

FIRST-FUTURE TENSE.

_Singular._ _Plural._ 1. I shall be reading, 1. We shall be reading, 2. Thou wilt be reading, 2. You will be reading, 3. He will be reading; 3. They will be reading.

SECOND-FUTURE TENSE.

_Singular._ _Plural._ 1. I shall have been reading, 1. We shall have been reading, 2. Thou wilt have been reading, 2. You will have been reading, 3. He will have been reading; 3. They will have been reading.

POTENTIAL MOOD.

PRESENT TENSE.

_Singular_. _Plural_.

1. I may be reading, 1. We may be reading, 2. Thou mayst be reading, 2. You may be reading, 3. He may be reading; 3. They may be reading.

IMPERFECT TENSE.

_Singular_. _Plural_.