Page:The grammar of English grammars.djvu/376



SECOND-FUTURE TENSE.

This tense prefixes the auxiliaries shall have or will have to the perfect participle: thus,

Singular. Plural. 1. I shall have loved,   1. We shall have loved, 2. Thou wilt have loved, 2. You will have loved, 3. He will have loved;   3. They will have loved.

OBS.--The auxiliary shall may also be used in the second and third persons of this tense, when preceded by a conjunction expressing condition or contingency; as, "If he shall have completed the work by midsummer."--L. Murray's Gram., p. 80. So, with the conjunctive adverb when; as, "Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power."--1 Cor., xv, 24. And perhaps will may here be used in the first person to express a promise, though such usage, I think, seldom occurs. Professor Fowler has given to this tense, first, the "Predictive" form, as exhibited above, and then a form which he calls "Promissive," and in which the auxiliaries are varied thus: "Singular. 1. I will have taken. 2. Thou shalt have taken, you shall have taken. 3. He shall have taken. Plural. 1. We will have taken. 2. Ye or you shall have taken. 3. He [say They,] shall have taken."--Fowler's E. Gram., 8vo., N. Y., 1850, p. 281. But the other instances just cited show that such a form is not always promissory.

POTENTIAL MOOD.

The potential mood is that form of the verb, which expresses the power, liberty, possibility, or necessity of the being, action, or passion. It is used in the first four tenses; but the potential imperfect is properly an aorist: its time is very indeterminate; as, "He would be devoid of sensibility were he not greatly satisfied."--''Lord Kames, El. of Crit.'', Vol. i, p. 11.

PRESENT TENSE.

This tense prefixes the auxiliary may, can, or must, to the radical verb: thus,

Singular. Plural. 1. I may love,                1. We may love, 2. Thou mayst love,           2. You may love, 3. He may love;               3. They may love.

IMPERFECT TENSE.

This tense prefixes the auxiliary might, could, would, or should, to the radical verb: thus,

Singular. Plural. 1. I might love,              1. We might love, 2. Thou mightst love,         2. You might love, 3. He might love;             3. They might love.

PERFECT TENSE.

This tense prefixes the auxiliaries, may have, can have, or must have, to the perfect participle: thus,

Singular. Plural. 1. I may have loved,          1. We may have loved, 2. Thou mayst have loved,     2. You may have loved, 3. He may have loved;         3. They may have loved.

PLUPERFECT TENSE.

This tense prefixes the auxiliaries, might have, could have, would have, or should have, to the perfect participle: thus,

Singular. Plural. 1. I might have loved,        1. We might have loved, 2. Thou mightst have loved,   2. You might have loved, 3. He might have loved;       3. They might have loved.

SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD.

The subjunctive mood is that form of the verb, which represents the being, action, or passion, as conditional, doubtful, or contingent. This mood is generally preceded by a conjunction; as, if, that, though, lest, unless, except. But sometimes, especially in poetry, it is formed by a mere placing of the verb before the nominative; as, "Were I," for, "If I were;"--"Had he," for, "If he had;"--"Fall we" for, "If we fall;"--"Knew they," for, "If they knew." It does not vary its termination at all, in the different persons.[261] It is used in the present, and sometimes in the imperfect