Part 69 (1/2)

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 ere, 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 I Been Having been

FAMILIAR FORM WITH 'THOU'

NOTE--In the faular 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 ht, could, would, _or_ should be; Thou ht, 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 Lohose Graives 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Shak Haular number of this time and mode, especially in the third person, is obsolete; and _is become_ somewhat antiquated _in the plural_”--_Lowth's Gra_ I am; thou art; he is; _Plur_ We are, _or_ be; ye are, _or_ be; they are, _or_ be” And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 Soe still occur in poetry: as,

”There _be_ reet 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 ular_ and _analogical_ 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 ular; and, for the plural, _were_ only Dr Johnson gives us, for the indicative, ”Thou wast, _or_ wert;” with the reht 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 sorammarians 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 forra 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, ”alloert_ 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 y 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 analogy 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 for 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 _nify_ his work”--_Job_, xxxvi, 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 ofThe Indicative, ”If he _was_,”

admits the fact; the Subjunctive, ”If he _were_,” supposes that he was not These uished by the sense, even when their forh _it thundered_, it did not rain”--”Though _it thundered_, he would not hear it” The indicative assuh 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 ere, 2 If ye _or_ you were, 3 If they were”--_Hall's Graain: ”SUBJ _Present Tense_ 1 If I love, 2 If thou _lovest_, 3 If he love,” &c ”The reeneral_, 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 a the purer writers of forh Abrahae_ us not'”--_Gralect the subjunctive e

II COMPOUND OR PROGRESSIVE FORM

Active and neuter verbsthe Ih all its changes; as, ”I _aoing_” This form of the verb denotes a _continuance_ of the action or state of being, and is, on many occasions, preferable to the siular active verb READ, conjugated affirmatively, in the Compound Form_