So likewife to express different Times, in which any thing is reprefented as being, acting, or acted upon as, "I love, I loved; I bear, I bore, I have borne."

The Mode is the Manner of reprefenting the Being, Action, or Paffion. When it is fimply declared, or a question afked, in order to obtain a declaration concerning it, it is called the Indicative Mode; as, "I love; lovest thou?" when it is bidden, it is called the Imperative; as, "love thou:" when it is fubjoined as the end or defign, or mentioned under a condition, a fuppofition, or the like, for the most part depending on fome other Verb, and having a Conjunction before it, it is called the Subjunctive; as, "If I love; if thou love:" when it is barely expreffed without any limitation of perfon or number, it is called the Infinitive; as, " to love;" and when it is expreffed in a form in which it may be joined to a Noun as its quality or accident, partaking thereby of the nature of an

is wholly dropped. Yet is this fcanty provifion of terminations fufficient for all the purposes of difcourfe, nor does any ambiguity arife from it: the Verb being always attended either with the Noun expreffing the Subject acting or acted upon, or the Pronoun reprefenting it. For which reason the Plural Termination in en, they loven, they weren, formerly in ufe, was laid afide as unneceffary, and hath long been obfolete.

Adjective, it is called the Participle; as, "loving [4]"

But

[4] A Mode is a particular form of the Verb, denot ing the manner in which a thing is, does, or suffers: or expreffing an intention of mind concerning fuch being, doing, or fuffering. As far as Grammar is concerned, there are no more Modes in any language, than there are forms of the Verb appropriated to the denoting of fuch different manners of reprefentation. For instance, the Greeks have a peculiar form of a Verb, by which they express the subject, or matter, of a wish; which properly conftitutes an Optative Mode: but the Latins have no fuch form; the subject of a Wish in their language is fubjoined to the Wish itself either expreffed or implied, as fubfequent to it and depending on it: they have therefore no Optative Mode; but what is expreffed in that Mode in Greek falls properly under the Subjunctive Mode in Latin. For the fame reafon, in English the feveral expreffions of Conditional Will, Poffibility, Liberty, Obligation, &c. come all under the Subjunctive Mode. The mere expreffion of Will, Poffibility Liberty, Obligation, &c. belong to the Indicative Mode: it is their Conditionality, their being fubfequent, and depending upon fomething preceding, that determines them to the Subjunctive Mode. And in this Grammatical Modal Form, however they may differ in other refpects Logically, or Metaphyfically, they all agree. That Will, Poffibility, Liberty, Obligation, &c. though exproffed by the fame Verbs that are occafionally used as Subjunctive Auxiliaries, may belong to the Indicative Mode, will be apparent from a few examples.

"Here

But to exprefs the Time of the Verb the English ufes alfo the affiftance of other Verbs,

"Here we may reign fecure."
Or of th' Eternal co-eternal beam
May I exprefs thee unblam'd ?"
"Firm they might have stood,
Yet fell."

“What we would do,

We should do, when we would.”

called

Milton,

Shakefpear, Hamlet.

"Is this the nature,

Which passion could not shake? whose solid virtue The fhot of accident, or dart of chance, Could neither raze, nor pierce ì” Id. Othello. Thefe fentences are all either declarative, or fimply interrogative; and however expreffive of Will, Liberty, Poffibility, or Obligation, yet the Verbs are all of the Indicative Mode.

It feems, therefore, that whatever other Metaphyfical Modes there may be in the theory of Univerfal Grammar, there are in English no other Grammatical Modes than those above described.

As in Latin the Subjunctive fupplies the want of an Optative Mode, fo does it likewife in English, with the Auxiliary may placed before the Nominative Cafe: as, "Long may be live!" Sometimes, chiefly when Almighty God is the fubject, the Auxiliary is omitted: as, "The LORD bless thee, and keep thee;" Numb. vi. 24. But the phrafe with the Pronoun is obfolete: as, "Unto which he vouchsafe

to bring us all!" Liturgy.

Perfon.

called therefore Auxiliaries, or Helpers; do, be, have, fhall, will: as, "I do love, I did love; I am loved, I was loved; I have loved, I have been loved; I fhall, or will, love, or be loved."

The two principal Auxiliaries, to have, and to be, are thus varied, according to Perfon, Number, Time, and Mode..

Time is Prefent, Paft, or Future,

то HAVE.

Indicative Mode.

Prefent Time.

That the Participle is a mere Mode of the Verb, is manifeft, if our Definition of a Verb be admitted: for it fignifies being, doing, or fuffering with the defignation of Time fuperadded. But if the effence of the Verb be made to confift in Affirmation, not only the Participle will be excluded from its place in the Verb, but the Infinitive itself also; which certain ancient Grammarians of great authority held to be alone the genuine Verb, denying that title to all the other Modes. See HERMES, p. 164.

[5] Thou, in the Polite, and even in the Familiar Style, is difufed, and the Plural You is employed inftead of it; we fay, You have; not, Thou haft. Though

in

in this cafe we apply You to a fingle Perfon, yet the Verb too must agree with it in the Plural Number: it muft neceffarily be You have; not, You haft. You was, the Second Perfon Plural of the Pronoun placed in agreement with the First or Third Perfon Singular of the Verb, is an enormous folecifm: and yet Authors of the first rank have inadvertently fallen into it. "Knowing that you was my old mafter's good friend.” Addifon, Spect. No 517. "The account you was pleafed to fend me." Bentley, Phileleuth. Lipf. Part II. See the Letter prefixed. "Would to God. you was within her reach!" Bolingbroke to Swift, Letter 46. "If you was here." Ditto, Letter 47. "I am just now as well, as when you was here." Pope to Swift, P. S. to Letter 56. On the contrary the Solemn Style admits not of you for a fingle Perfon. This hath led Mr. Pope into a great impropriety in the beginning of his Meffiah:

"O Thou my voice inspire,

Who touch'd Ifaiah's hallow'd lips with fire." The Solemnity of the Style would not admit of You for Thou in the Pronoun; nor the measure of the Verle touchedft, or didft touch, in the Verb, as it indifpenfably ought to be, in the one or the other of these two forms; You, who touched; or Thou, who touchedft, or didft touch.