than If I was, and to If he were than If he was; but, concerning the distinction between Indicative and Subjunctive, grammatists are as much divided as custom is: and, according to the old doggrel couplet,

When doctors disagree
Disciples are free.

The following words, called Auxiliary Verbs, have no change of termination; except in connexion with Thou: thus,

I may, thou mayest, he may, &c.

I might, thou mightest, he might, &c.

I

can,

thou canst, he can, &c..

I will, thou wilt, he will, &c.

I shall, thou shalt, he shall, &c.

Wilt and shalt are contractions of willest, shallest; as would, should, are of willed, shalled, &c.

In all the combinations of may, can, &c., (with the exception of what is called the second person singular,) there is as much grammatic simplicity as can be wished; for there are no useless and embarrassing inflections or changes: thus,

The verb Have, so much used in connexion with other verbs, is, owing to contraction, of a very irregular form: thus,

I have, Thou hast, (contr. of havest,) He hath, or has, contr. of haveth, or haves, We, Ye or You, They, &c., have.

The above is commonly called the Present Tense.

I

He

We

&c.

had (contr. of haved), Thou hadst.

The above is called, by some, the Imperfect, by others, the Past Tense. There is another combination, or reduplication, of the same word, called Pluperfect Tense.

To have is called the Infinitive Mood; Having is called Present Participle; Had is called, by some, the Past Participle; by others, the Perfect Participle.

Do is also frequently employed in connexion with other verbs; and, in what is called the past tense, Doed, is now contracted into Did:

I do, thou dost, he doth, or does; We, &c., do. I did, thou didst, he did, we did, &c.

What is denominated a Regular Verb is combined with nouns and pronouns in the following manner :

Thou trainedst, or didst train.

This is commonly called either the Imperfect or the Past Tense, Indicative Mood.

I have trained, &c., is called the Perfect Tense.
I had trained, &c., is called the Pluperfect Tense.
I shall or will train, &c., is called the first future

tense.

I shall or will have trained, &c., is called the second future tense.

To train is called Infinitive Mood. Training is called Present Participle.

Trained is called Past Participle, or Passive Participle. But these designations are as useless, for any practical purpose, as they are unmeaning or false or absurd.

By connecting the past participle of an active or transitive verb, with the substantive verb, what grammatists term the passive voice is formed: thus,

I am trained, &c. I was trained, &c. I have been trained, &c. I had been trained, &c. I will or shall be trained, &c. &c. &c. If I am or be trained, &c. I may be trained, &c. &c. &c.

It is wholly unnecessary to exhibit the verbs more The reader will clearly perceive how the various combinations are formed.

fully.

All those verbs which do not admit of being com

bined with the substantive verb, are called intransitive or neuter: such as, sit, stand, lie, sleep, &c. We can say, I am trained, loved, watched, &c.; but we do not say, I am sat, stood, slept, &c.

One grammatic distinction of verbs, therefore, is into active and neuter, or transitive and intransitive: the former, (as already noticed,) when acting upon the pronouns, put them in what is called the objective case: thus, I love him, not I love he; he loves me, not he loves I

A certain number of verbs are called irregular, because they do not assume ed, for what are called the past tense and perfect participle, like, I love, I loved, I have loved. Thus, according to custom, we must not say, I begin, I beginned, I have beginned ; but, I began, I have begun.

The following is a list of the irregular verbs:

1. Those which admit of no change: (as, I put, I have put ;) Put, Cost, Beat, (sometimes beaten is employed as the participle; as, he is beaten,) Burst, Cast, Cut, Hit, Hurt, Let, Rid, Set, Shed, Shut, Split, Sweat, Read.

2. Such as have one anomalous termination: as, Abide, Abode; Sell, Sold (corrup. of selled); Beseech, Besought; Bind, Bound; Bleed, Bled; Breed, Bred; Bring, Brought; Buy, Bought; Catch, Caught; Cling, Clung; Creep, Crept; Dig, Dug; Feed, Fed; Feel, Felt; Fight, Fought; Find, Found; Flee, Fled; Fling, Flung; Get, Got; Gild, Gilt (also regular); Gird, Girt (R.); Grind, Ground;