Part 58 (1/2)
OBS 5--Arammars in which verbs are divided, as above mentioned, into _active, passive_, and _neuter_, only, are those of the folloriters: Lowth, Murray, Ainsworth, Alden, Allen, Alger, Bacon, Bicknell, Blair, Bullions, (at first,) Charles Adams, Bucke, Cobbett, Cobbin, Dilworth, A Flint, Frost, (at first,) Greenleaf, Hall, Johnson,[223] Lennie, Picket, Pond, Sanborn, R C Sht These authors, and ree, that, ”A _verb neuter_ expresses neither action nor passion, but being, or a state of being”--_L
Murray_ Yet, according to their schele, wrestle, contend_, are verbs _neuter_ In view of this palpable absurdity, I cannot but think it was a useful irammar, to make active-intransitive verbs a distinct class, and to apply the ter definition This had been done before the days of Lindley Murray, as lish Syntax, p 56, and in the old British Grammar, p 153, each published many years before the appearance of his work;[224] and it has often been done since, and is preferred even by many of the professed adrammars of Comly, Fisk, Merchant, Kirkham, and others
OBS 6--Murray himself quotes this improved distribution, and with soines it must needs be _inconvenient_ in practice Had he been a schooled He says, ”Verbs have been distinguished by so kinds:--
”1st _Active-transitive_, or those which denote an action that passes froent to some object: as, Caesar conquered Pompey
”2d _Active-intransitive_, or those which express that kind of action, which has no effect upon any thing beyond itself: as, Caesar walked
”3d _Passive_, or those which express, not action, but passion, whether pleasing or painful: as, Portia was loved; Pompey was conquered
”4th _Neuter_, or those which express an attribute that consists neither in action nor passion: as, Caesar stood
”This appears to be an orderly arrangement But if the class of _active-intransitive_ verbs were admitted, _it would rather perplex_ than assist the learner: for the difference between verbs active and neuter, as transitive and intransitive is easy and obvious: but the difference between verbs absolutely neuter and [those which are] intransitively active, is not always clear It is, indeed, often _very difficult_, if not impossible to be ascertained”--_Murray's Gra note, from a book written on purpose to apply the principles of Murray's Gra two dozen,) ned for rejecting the class of active-intransitive verbs: ”It is possible that some teachers may look upon the nice distinction here made, between the active _transitive_ and the active _intransitive verbs_, as totally unnecessary They may, perhaps, rank the latter with the neuter verbs The author had his choice of difficulties: on the one hand, he are that his arrangeht not suit the views of the above-mentioned persons; and, on the other, he was so sensible of the inaccuracy of their syste with the definitions, as well as rules, laid down in al before the public a work containing so well-known and manifest an error Of what use can Murray's definition of the _active_ verb be, to one who endeavours to prove the propriety of thus assigning an epithet to the various parts of speech, in the course of parsing? He says, 'A verb active expresses an action, and necessarily ient, and an object acted upon' In the sentence, 'William hastens away,' the active intransitive verb _hastens_ has indeed an _agent_, 'Williaovern the objective case;' although it is clear it is not the _active_of the verb which requires the objective case, but the _transitive_, and that only He adds, 'A verb neuter expresses _neither action, nor passion_, but being, or a state of being;' and the accuracy of this definition is borne out by the assent of perhaps every other grammarian If, with this clear and forcible definition before our eyes, we proceed to class _active_ intransitive verbs with neuter verbs, and direct our pupils to prove such a classification by reciting Murray's definition of the _neuter_ verb, wepupil the remonstrance which was actuallythe verb '_to run_' 'Sir,' asks the boy, 'does not _to run_ ilish Parser_, p 9
OBS 8--For the consideration of those classical scholars who e_, to adhere to the old division of verbs into active, passive, and neuter, it may be proper to say, that the distribution of the verbs in Latin, has been as ralish verbs,ourselves; and often the points at issue were precisely the sarammarians, as Charisius, Donatus, Servius, Priscian; or even to notice the opinions of later critics, as Sanctius, Scioppius, Vossius, Perizonius; ht seem perhaps a needless departure frorammar is concerned to know The curious, however,citations fro head, in sorammars See _Prat's Grammatica Latina_, 8vo, London, 1722 It is certain that the division of _active_ verbs, into _transitive_ and _intransitive_--or, (what is the sa,) into ”_absolute_ and _transitive_”--or, into ”_immanent_ and _transient_”--is of a very ancient date The notion of calling _passive_ verbs _transitive_, when used in their ordinary and proper construction, as some now do, is, I think, a _modern_ one, and no small error
OBS 9--Dr Adam's distribution of verbs, is apparently the same as the first part of Murray's; and his definitions are also in nearly the same words But he adds, ”The verb _Active_ is also called _Transitive_, when the action _passeth over_ to the object, or hath an effect on so; as, _scribo literas_, I write letters: but when the action is confined within the agent, and _passeth not over_ to any object, it is called _Intransitive_; as, _ambulo_, I walk; _curro_, I run: [fist] which are likewise called _Neuter Verbs_”--_Adalish Gram_, p
79 But he had just before said, ”A _Neuter_ verb properly expresses neither action nor passion, but _sis; as, _dormio_, I sleep; _sedeo_, I sit”--_Ibid_ Verbs of motion or action, then, lish Nor is this author's arrangement orderly in other respects; for he treats of ”_Deponent_ and _Coular_ Verbs,” of ”_Defective_ Verbs,” and of ”_Impersonal_ Verbs,” none of which had he mentioned in his distribution Nor are the late revisers of his grammar any more methodical
OBS 10--The division of our verbs into _active-transitive, active-intransitive, passive_, and _neuter_, nification_ as of themselves, but also to their _construction_ with respect to the government of an objective word after them The latter is in fact their h made _with reference_ to a different part of speech The classical scholar, too, being familiar with the forms of Latin and Greek verbs, will doubtless think it a convenience, to have the arrangement as nearly correspondent to those ancient fore will adnition of the class of _passive verbs_ in English So to parse the passive participle separately, reject this class of verbs altogether; and, for their division of the rest with reference to the construction alone, make but two classes, _transitive_ and _intransitive_ Such is the distribution adopted by C Alexander, D Ada, and John Peirce; and supported also by so whom are McCulloch and Grant Such too was the distribution of Webster, in his Plain and Coht: ”We have no _passive_ verb in the language; and those which are called _neuter_ are e 14 But subsequently, in his Philosophical, Abridged, and Inized ”a more natural and comprehensive division” of verbs, ”_transitive, intransitive, and passive_”--_Webster's Rudiments_, p 20 This, in reality, differs but little from the old division into _active, passive_, and _neuter_ In sorammars of recent date, as Churchill's, R W Bailey's, J R Brown's, Butler's, S W Clark's, Frazee's, Hart's, Hendrick's, Perley's, Pinneo's, Weld's, Wells's, Mulligan's, and the _improved_ treatises of Bullions and Frost, verbs are said to be of _two_ kinds only, _transitive_ and _intransitive_; but these authors allow to transitive verbs a ”passive for all passive verbs transitive, and all neuters intransitive, as if _action_ were expressed by both For this most faulty classification, Dr Bullions pretends the authority of ”Mr Webster;” and Frazee, that of ”Webster, Bullions, and others”--_Frazee's Graht the absurd doctrine _that passive verbs are transitive_, he has contradicted it far too ht in its favour
OBS 11--Dalton makes only two classes; and these he will have to be _active_ and _passive_: an arrangeer, Sanctius, and Scioppius Ash and Coar recognize but thich they call _active_ and _neuter_ This was also the scheme of Bullions, in his Principles of E Gram, 4th Edition, 1842 Priestley and Maunder have thich they call _transitive_ and _neuter_; but Maunder, like some named above, will have transitive verbs to be susceptible of an active and a passive voice, and Priestley virtually asserts the same Cooper, Day, Davis, Hazen, Hiley, Webster, Wells, (in his 1st Edition,) and Wilcox have three classes; _transitive, intransitive_, and _passive_ Sanders's Grammar has _three_; ”_Transitive, Intransitive_, and _Neuter_;” and two voices, both _transitive!_ Jaudon has four: _transitive, intransitive, auxiliary_, and _passive_ Burn has four; _active, passive, neuter_, and _substantive_
Cardell labours hard to prove that all verbs are _both active and transitive_; and for this, had he desired their aid, he ht have cited several ancient authorities[227] Cutler avers, ”_All verbs are active_;”
yet he divides them ”into _active transitive, active intransitive_, and _participial verbs_”--_Gra to think all the foregoingof the kind Willianized three voices; ”Active, Passive, and Middle; as, _I call, I aed the first two of these voices, but made no division of verbs into classes
OBS 12--If we admit the class of _active-intransitive_ verbs, that of verbs _neuter_ will unquestionably be very small And this refutes Murray's objection, that the learner will ”_often_” be puzzled to knohich is which Nor can it be of any consequence, if he happen in so To _be_, to _exist_, to _re_, to _appertain_, and perhaps a few rammarians, as may be inferred from what is said above, deny that there are any neuter verbs in any language ”Verba Neutra, ait Sanctius, nullo pacto esse possunt; quia, teste Aristotele, omnis motus, actio, vel passio, nihil medium est”--_Prat's Latin Gram_, p 117 John Grant, in his Institutes of Latin Grae the distinction which Murray supposes to be so ”very difficult” in those of our own; and, without falling into the error of Sanctius, or of Lily,[228] respecting neuter verbs, judiciously confines the term to such as are neuter in reality
OBS 13--Active-transitive verbs, in English, generally require, that the agent or doer of the action be expressed _before_ them in the nominative case, and the object or receiver of the action, _after_ them in the objective; as, ”Caesar _conquered_ Pompey” Passive verbs, which are never primitives, but always derived from active-transitive verbs, (in order to form sentences of like import from natural opposites in voice and sense,) reverse this order, change the cases of the nouns, and denote that the subject, naent follows, being introduced by the preposition _by_: as, ”Pompey _was conquered_ by Caesar” But, as our passive verb always consists of two or more separable parts, this order is liable to be varied, especially in poetry; as,
”How ht praise and true perfection!”--_Shakspeare_
”Experience _is by industry achieved_, And _perfected by_ the swift _course_ of time”--_Id_
OBS 14--Most active verbs may be used either transitively or intransitively Active verbs are transitive whenever there is any person or thing expressed or clearly implied on which the action terminates; as, ”I _knew_ him well, and every truant _knew_”--_Goldsovern such an object, they are intransitive, whatever rand elementary principles of pleasure, by which he _knows_, and _feels_, and _lives_, and _inates_ and _elects_ The Son _enerates_ and _sanctifies_”--_Gurney's Portable Evidences_, p 66 ”Spectators _rees _decide_, parties _watch_”--_Blair's Rhet_, p 271 ”In a sermon, a preacher _may explain, demonstrate, infer, exhort, admonish, comfort_”--_Alexander's E Gram_, p 91
OBS 15--Some verbs may be used in either an active or a neuter sense In the sentence, ”Here I rest,” _rest_ is a neuter verb; but in the sentence, ”Here I rest overns _hopes_ And a few that are always active in a gra an object after them, do not always indicate such an exertion of force as we commonly call _action_ Such perhaps are the verbs to _have_, to _possess_, to _owe_, to _cost_; as, ”They _have_ no wine”--”The house _has_ a portico”--”The man _possesses_ no real estate”--”A son _owes_ help and honour to his father”--_Holyday_ ”The picture _cost_ a crown”--_Wright_, p 181 Yet possibly even these may be sometimes rather active-intransitive; as, ”I can bear my part; 'tis s _have_ to deal with their neighbours”--_Bacon_ ”She will let her instructions enter where folly now _possesses_”--_Shakspeare_
”Thou hast deserv'd ive, and mine to _owe_”--_Dryden_
OBS 16--An active-intransitive verb, followed by a preposition and its object, will so put into the passive for assu retained with the verb, as an adverb: as, (_Active_,) ”They _laughed_ at hihed at_” ”For some time the nonconformists _were connived at_”--_Robertson's America_, Vol ii, p
414 ”Every y_, p
212 ”If a church _would be looked up to_, it h”--_Parker's Idea_, p 15
OBS 17--In some instances, what is commonly considered the active form of the verb, is used in a passive sense; and, still oftener, as we have no other passive form that so well denotes continuance, we e_ in that sense also: as, ”I'll teach you all what's _owing_ to your Queen”--_Dryden_ That is--what is _due_, or _owed_ ”The books continue _selling_; ie _upon the sale_, or _to be sold_”--_Priestley's Gra_; ie _at the forging_, or _in_ [_being forged_”]--_Ib_ ”They are to _blarae the distinction between active and passive verbs is of little consequence: ”Mr Grant, however, observes, p 65, 'The colish verb, or name of action, are few, sih, ploughing, ploughed_ Now these words, and their inflections, may be employed either actively or passively