Page:The grammar of English grammars.djvu/385

 POTENTIAL MOOD.

PRESENT TENSE.

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

IMPERFECT TENSE.

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

PERFECT TENSE.

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

PLUPERFECT TENSE.

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

SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD.

PRESENT TENSE.

Singular. Plural. 1. If I be reading,              1. If we be reading, 2. If thou be reading,           2. If you be reading, 3. If he be reading;             3. If they be reading.

IMPERFECT TENSE.

Singular. Plural. 1. If I were reading,            1. If we were reading, 2. If thou were reading,         2. If you were reading, 3. If he were reading;           3. If they were reading.

IMPERATIVE MOOD.

Sing. 2. Be [thou]     reading,  or Do thou be reading; Plur. 2. Be [ye or you] reading, or Do you be reading.

PARTICIPLES.

1. The Imperfect. 2. The Perfect. 3. The Preperfect. Being reading. -         Having been reading.

FAMILIAR FORM WITH 'THOU.'

NOTE.--In the familiar style, the second person singular of this verb, is usually and more properly formed thus: IND. Thou art reading, Thou was reading, Thou hast been reading, Thou had been reading, Thou shall or will be reading, Thou shall or will have been reading. POT. Thou may, can, or must be reading; Thou might, could, would, or should be reading; Thou may, can, or must have been reading; Thou might, could, would, or should have been reading. SUBJ. If thou be reading, If thou were reading. IMP. Be [thou,] reading, or Do thou be reading.

OBSERVATIONS.

OBS. 1.--Those verbs which, in their simple form, imply continuance, do not admit the compound form: thus we say, "I respect him;" but not, "I am respecting him." This compound form seems to imply that kind of action, which is susceptible of intermissions and renewals. Affections of the mind or heart are supposed to last; or, rather, actions of this kind are complete as soon as they exist. Hence, to love, to hate, to desire, to fear, to forget, to remember, and many other such