How to Speak and Write Correctly Part 5

Sing. Plural 1st person If I were loved If they were loved 2nd person If you were loved If you were loved 3rd person If he were loved If we were loved

PRESENT PERFECT TENSE

Sing. Plural 1st person If I have been loved If we have been loved 2nd person If you have been loved If you have been loved 3rd person If he has been loved If they have been loved

PAST PERFECT TENSE

Sing. Plural 1st person If I had been loved If we had been loved 2nd person If you had been loved If you had been loved 3rd person If he had been loved If they had been loved

INFINITIVES

Present Perfect To be loved To have been loved

PARTICIPLES

Present Past Perfect Being loved Been loved Having been loved

(N. B.--Note that the plural form of the personal p.r.o.noun, _you_, is used in the second person singular throughout. The old form _thou_, except in the conjugation of the verb "To Be," may be said to be obsolete. In the third person singular he is representative of the three personal p.r.o.nouns of the third person, _He_, _She_ and _It_.)

ADVERB

An _adverb_ is a word which modifies a verb, an adjective or another adverb. Thus, in the example--"He writes _well_," the adverb shows the manner in which the writing is performed; in the examples--"He is remarkably diligent" and "He works very faithfully," the adverbs modify the adjective _diligent_ and the other adverb _faithfully_ by expressing the degree of diligence and faithfulness.

Adverbs are chiefly used to express in one word what would otherwise require two or more words; thus, _There_ signifies in that place; _whence_, from what place; _usefully_, in a useful manner.

Adverbs, like adjectives, are sometimes varied in their terminations to express comparison and different degrees of quality.

Some adverbs form the comparative and superlative by adding _er_ and _est_; as, _soon_, _sooner_, _soonest_.

Adverbs which end in _ly_ are compared by prefixing _more_ and _most_; as, _n.o.bly_, _more n.o.bly_, _most n.o.bly_.

A few adverbs are irregular in the formation of the comparative and superlative; as, _well_, _better_, _best_.

PREPOSITION

A _preposition_ connects words, clauses, and sentences together and shows the relation between them. "My hand is on the table" shows relation between hand and table.

Prepositions are so called because they are generally placed _before_ the words whose connection or relation with other words they point out.

CONJUNCTION

A _conjunction_ joins words, clauses and sentences; as "John _and_ James." "My father and mother have come, _but_ I have not seen them."

The conjunctions in most general use are _and, also; either, or; neither, nor; though, yet; but, however; for, that; because, since; therefore, wherefore, then; if, unless, lest_.

INTERJECTION

An _interjection_ is a word used to express some sudden emotion of the mind. Thus in the examples,--"Ah! there he comes; alas! what shall I do?"

_ah_, expresses surprise, and _alas_, distress.

Nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs become interjections when they are uttered as exclamations, as, _nonsense! strange! hail! away!_ etc.

We have now enumerated the parts of speech and as briefly as possible stated the functions of each. As they all belong to the same family they are related to one another but some are in closer affinity than others.

To point out the exact relationship and the dependency of one word on another is called _parsing_ and in order that every etymological connection may be distinctly understood a brief resume of the foregoing essentials is here given:

The signification of the noun is _limited_ to _one_, but to any _one_ of the kind, by the _indefinite_ article, and to some _particular_ one, or some particular _number_, by the _definite_ article.

_Nouns_, in one form, represent _one_ of a kind, and in another, _any number_ more than one; they are the _names of males_, or _females_, or of objects which are neither male nor female; and they represent the _subject_ of an affirmation, a command or a question,--the _owner_ or _possessor_ of a thing,--or the _object_ of an action, or of a relation expressed by a preposition.

_Adjectives_ express the _qualities_ which distinguish one person or thing from another; in one form they express quality _without comparison_; in another, they express comparison _between two_, or between _one_ and a number taken collectively,--and in a third they express comparison between _one_ and a _number_ of others taken separately.

_p.r.o.nouns_ are used in place of nouns; one cla.s.s of them is used merely as the _subst.i.tutes_ of _names_; the p.r.o.nouns of another cla.s.s have a peculiar _reference_ to some _preceding words_ in the _sentence_, of which they are the subst.i.tutes,--and those of a third cla.s.s refer adjectively to the persons or things they represent. Some p.r.o.nouns are used for both the _name_ and the _subst.i.tute_; and several are frequently employed in _asking questions_.

_Affirmations_ and _commands_ are expressed by the verb; and different inflections of the verb express _number_, _person_, _time_ and _manner_.

With regard to _time_, an affirmation may be _present_ or _past_ or _future_; with regard to manner, an affirmation may be _positive_ or _conditional_, it being doubtful whether the condition is fulfilled or not, or it being implied that it is not fulfilled;--the verb may express _command_ or _entreaty_; or the sense of the verb may be expressed _without affirming_ or _commanding_. The verb also expresses that an action or state _is_ or _was_ going on, by a form which is also used sometimes as a noun, and sometimes to qualify nouns.

_Affirmations_ are _modified_ by _adverbs_, some of which can be inflected to express different degrees of modification.

Words are joined together by _conjunctions_; and the various _relations_ which one thing bears to another are expressed by _'prepositions. Sudden emotions_ of the mind, and _exclamations_ are expressed by _interjections_.

Some words according to meaning belong sometimes to one part of speech, sometimes to another. Thus, in "After a storm comes a _calm_," _calm_ is a noun; in "It is a _calm_ evening," _calm_ is an adjective; and in "_Calm_ your fears," _calm_ is a verb.

The following sentence containing all the parts of speech is pa.r.s.ed etymologically:

_"I now see the old man coming, but, alas, he has walked with much difficulty."_

_I_, a personal p.r.o.noun, first person singular, masculine or feminine gender, nominative case, subject of the verb _see_.

_now_, an adverb of time modifying the verb _see_.

_see_, an irregular, transitive verb, indicative mood, present tense, first person singular to agree with its nominative or subject I.

_the_, the definite article particularizing the noun man.

_old_, an adjective, positive degree, qualifying the noun man.

_man_, a common noun, 3rd person singular, masculine gender, objective case governed by the transitive verb _see_.

_coming_, the present or imperfect participle of the verb "to come"

referring to the noun man.