Page:The grammar of English grammars.djvu/410



DEFECTIVE VERBS.

A defective verb is a verb that forms no participles, and is used in but few of the moods and tenses; as, beware, ought, quoth.

OBSERVATIONS.

OBS. 1. When any of the principal parts of a verb are wanting, the tenses usually derived from those parts are also, of course, wanting. All the auxiliaries, except do, be, and have, if we compare them with other verbs, are defective; but, as auxiliaries, they lack nothing; for no complete verb is used throughout as an auxiliary, except be. And since an auxiliary differs essentially from a principal verb, the propriety of referring may, can, must, and shall, to the class of defective verbs, is at least questionable. In parsing there is never any occasion to call them defective verbs, because they are always taken together with their principals. And though we may technically say, that their participles are "wanting," it is manifest that none are needed.

OBS. 2. Will is sometimes used as a principal verb, and as such it is regular and complete; will, willed, willing, willed: as, "His Majesty willed that they should attend."--Clarendon. "He wills for them a happiness of a far more exalted and enduring nature."--Gurney. "Whether thou willest it to be a minister to our pleasure."--Harris. "I will; be thou clean."--Luke, v, 13. "Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou will."--Matt., xxvi, 39. "To will is present with me."--Rom., vii, 18. But would is sometimes also a principal verb; as, "What would this man?"--Pope. "Would God that all the Lord's people were prophets."--Numb., xi, 29. "And Israel would none of me."--Psalm, lxxxi, 11. If we refer this indefinite preterit to the same root, will becomes redundant; will, willed or would, willing, willed. In respect to time, would is less definite than willed, though both are called preterits. It is common, and perhaps best, to consider them distinct verbs. The latter only can be a participle: as,

"How rarely does it meet with this time's guise,   When man was will'd to love his enemies!"--Shakspeare.

OBS. 3. The remaining defective verbs are only five or six questionable terms, which our grammarians know not well how else to explain; some of them being now nearly obsolete, and others never having been very proper. Begone is a needless coalition of be and gone, better written separately, unless Dr. Johnson is right in calling the compound an interjection: as,

"Begone! the goddess cries with stern disdain,   Begone! nor dare the hallow'd stream to stain!"--Addison.

Beware also seems to be a needless compound of be and the old adjective ware, wary, aware, cautious. Both these are, of course, used only in those forms of expression in which be is proper; as, "Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision."--Philippians, iii, 2. "But we must beware[297] of carrying our attention to this beauty too far."--Blair's Rhet., p. 119. These words were formerly separated: as, "Of whom be thou ware also."--1 Tim., iv, 15. "They were ware of it."--FRIENDS' BIBLE, and ALGER'S: Acts, xiii, 6. "They were aware of it."--SCOTT'S BIBLE: ib. "And in an hour that he is not ware of him."--Johnson's Dict., w. Ware. "And in an hour that he is not aware of."--COMMON BIBLES: Matt., xxiv, 50. "Bid her well be ware and still erect."--MILTON: in Johnson's Dict. "That even Silence was took ere she was ware."--Id., Comus, line 558. The adjective ware is now said to be "obsolete;" but the propriety of this assertion depends upon that of forming such a defective verb. What is the use of doing so?

"This to disclose is all thy guardian can;   Beware of all, but most beware of man."--Pope.

The words written separately will always have the same meaning, unless we omit the preposition of, and suppose the compound to be a transitive verb. In this case, the argument for compounding the terms appears to be valid; as,

"Beware the public laughter of the town;   Thou springst a-leak already in thy crown."--Dryden.

OBS. 4. The words ought and own, without question, were originally parts of the redundant verb to owe; thus: owe, owed or ought, owing, owed or own. But both have long been disjoined