been 1. The question is one which has not and never will be set tled. objected Λ 2. He always has and always will object. Λ read 3. I never have and never intend to read that book. A EXERCISES I 1. Conjugate through the six tenses the verbs have, be, and do. 2. What verbs have the same form for the three principal parts? 3. What verbs have two forms for the past tense? 4. How do the principal parts of forget differ from those of get? II Insert in each of the following blanks some form of lay or lie: 1. I am going to 2. 3. He down. it down immediately. on his left side. 4. Have you it where I told you? 5. How long have you in that position? III Insert in each of the following blanks some form of set or State and illustrate the caution in the use of the past participle. CHAPTER LXXIV MOOD Compare the verbs in these sentences: 1. Shakespeare was born in Stratford. (A fact) 2. Oh, that Washington were alive! (A wish) 3. If Washington were alive, all would be different. (A condition) 4. Put on your hat. (A command) 5. Forgive us our debts. (An entreaty) In the first of these sentences, the verb expresses a fact; in the second, the verb expresses an impossible wish; in the third, the verb expresses an impossible condition; in the fourth, the verb expresses a command; and in the fifth, the verb expresses an entreaty. These sentences show the different ways in which the action expressed by a verb may be thought of. Mood indicates the way in which the action, being, or state of being is thought of. The indicative is the mood of fact. The subjunctive is the mood of wish and condition. The imperative is the mood of command and entreaty. The Indicative Mood. You have been using the indicative mood all your life. Whenever you make a statement or ask a question you use this mood. The forms of sing and love that you learned are forms of the indicative mood. Indeed, this mood can express everything except a command. The Imperative Mood. The imperative is another mood that you have used all your life. It is the mood used in imperative sentences. The only thing peculiar about the imperative mood is that the subject of the verb is always you, and this you is generally omitted; it is said to be "understood": 1. Lend me your knife = [You] lend me your knife. 2. Hand me that book = [You] hand me that book. 3. Let that boy alone = [You] let that boy alone. 4. Put the dog out = [You] put the dog out. The Subjunctive Mood. The difference between the indicative and the subjunctive is most clearly seen in the present and past tenses of the verb to be. Compare these forms: Comparison between Subjunctive and Indicative. You see at once that the indicative forms of the verb to be are far more familiar than the subjunctive forms. The present subjunctive of this verb is rarely used to-day; it is always permissible to use the indicative instead. The past subjunc- 1. If I were a rich man, I should found a big hospital. All four sentences are correct; but the subjunctive is preferable to the indicative when the condition, as here, is an impossible one. Good writers always say, "If I were you," never " If I was you." EXERCISE Change the following indicative forms to subjunctive forms; remember that both forms are correct: 1. If his mind was changed, he would be otherwise. 2. If I was a lord or a bishop, I would not put a fellow in my livery that had not a wooden leg. - ADDISON: Sir Roger de Coverley. 3. If I was not a farmer, there would be some hopes for me. - MARIA EDGEWORTH: Popular Tales 4. What would be left to me, if I myself was the man who softened and blended and diluted and weakened all the distinguishing colors of my life? EDMUND BURKE: Bristol Speech. |