There are three kinds of nominatives, _active,
passive_, and _neuter_.
The nominative to an _active_ verb, is _active_, because it _produces_
an action, and the nominative to a _passive_ verb, is _passive_, because
it _receives_ or _endures_ the action expressed by the verb; for,
A Passive Verb denotes action _received_ or _endured_ by the person or
thing which is the nominative; as, "The _boy is beaten_ by his father."
You perceive, that the nominative _boy_, in this example, is not
represented as the _actor_, but as the _object_ of the action expressed
by the verb _is beaten_; that is, the boy _receives_ or _endures_ the
action performed by his father; therefore _boy_ is a _passive_
nominative. And you observe, too, that the verb _is beaten_, denotes the
_action_ received or endured by the nominative; therefore _is beaten_ is
a _passive_ verb.
If I say, John _kicked_ the horse, John is an active nominative, because
he performed or produced the action; but if I say, John _was kicked_ by
the horse, John is a passive nominative, because he received or endured
the action.
The nominative to a _neuter_ verb, is _neuter_, because it does not
produce an action nor receive one; as, John _sits_ in the chair.
Pages:
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372