I will, therefore, commence
this lecture by giving you an explanation of the Moods and Tenses of
verbs. Have the goodness, however, first to turn back and read over
Lecture II., and reflect well upon what is there said respecting the
verb; after which I will conduct you so smoothly through the moods and
tenses, and the conjugation of verbs, that, instead of finding yourself
involved in obscurities and deep intricacies, you will scarcely find an
obstruction to impede your progress.
I. OF THE MOODS.
The MOOD or MODE of a verb means the _manner_ in which its action,
passion, or being, is represented.
When I wish to assert a thing, positively, I use the _declarative_ or
_indicative_ mode; as, The man _walks_; but sometimes the action or
occurrence of which I wish to speak, is doubtful, and then I must not
declare it positively, but I must adopt another _mode_ of expression;
thus, _If_ the man _walk_, he will refresh himself with the bland
breezes. This second mode or manner of representing the action, is
called the _subjunctive_ or _conditional_ mode.
Again, we sometimes employ a verb when we do not wish to _declare_ a
thing, nor to represent the action in a _doubtful_ or _conditional_
manner; but we wish to _command_ some one to act.
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