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Initial-stress-derived noun
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Initial-stress-derivation is a phonological process in English, wherein verbs become nouns or adjectives when the stress is moved to the first syllable from a later one -- usually, but not always, the second. This is gradually becoming more standardized in some English dialects, but is not present in all, and the list of affected words differs from area to area. Perhaps 100 verb-noun (or adjective) pairs exist in total. Some examples are:

conflict.
as a verb, "I hope that won't conFLICT in any way."
as a noun, "There will be no CONflict."
record.
as a verb, "Remember to reCORD the show!".
as a noun, "I'll keep a RECord of that request."
permit.
as a verb, "I won't perMIT that."
as a noun, "We already got a PERmit."
A more detailed, though incomplete list follows.

When the prefix "re-" is prepended to a monosyllabic word, and the word gains currency both as a noun and as a verb, it will probably fit into this pattern, although, as the following list makes clear, most words fitting this pattern do not match that description.

Many of these have first syllables that evolved from Latin prepositions, although again that does not account for all of them. See also list of Latin words with English derivatives.

When the stress is moved, the pronunciation, especially of vowels, often changes in other ways as well. Most common is the change of a vowel sound to a schwa when it becomes unstressed.

P/U dialect
There is a dialect in the United States referred to informally by linguists as P/U or police/umbrella because in that dialect these nouns (along with cigarette, insurance, and many others) are stressed on the first syllable.

List
absent - abstract - address - affect - affix - ally - attribute - combat - combine - compact - compost - compound - compress - commune - concert - conduct - confines - conflict - conscript - console - consort - construct - consult - content - contest - contract - contrast - converse - convert - convict - default - defect - desert - digest - discharge - dismount - entrance - escort - exploit - export - extract - finance - impact - impound - import - incense - incline - - increase - intercept - insert - insult - invite - object - overcount - overlay - overlook - perfect - permit - perfume - pervert - present - proceeds - produce - progress - project - protest - rebel - recall - recap - recess - record - redirect - redress - refund - refuse - regress - reject - relapse - remake - research - retake - retard - retract - subject - survey - suspect - transform - transplant - transect - transpose - transport - undercount - update - uplift - upset

Comments
In some cases the spelling changes when the accent moves to another syllable:

envelop | envelope
unite | unit
(in both cases, the verb precedes the slash and the noun follows it).

fall out
hand out (written as one word when a noun)
drop out (also written as a single word when a noun)
make up (sometimes hyphenated when a noun)
crack down (written as one word when a noun)
Some of these words have very different meanings depending on the part of speech. For instance, to combine is to put together, whereas a combine may be a farm machine or a railway car.

Pronunciations vary geographically. Someone even proposed adding display to this list. Some words here may belong on this list according to pronunciations prevailing in some regions, but not according to those in others.

Perhaps transpose is used as a noun only by mathematicians; the transpose of a matrix is the result of the process of transposition of the matrix; the two-syllable noun and the four syllable noun differ in meaning in that one is the result and the other is the process. Similar remarks apply to transform; the process is transformation, the result of the process is the transform, as in Laplace transform, Fourier transform, etc.

A particularly interesting case is the word protest; as a noun it has the stress on the first syllable, but as a verb its meaning depends on stress: with the stress on the second syllable it means to raise a protest; on the first it means to participate in a protest. This appears to result from the derived noun being verbed.

Continuous aspect
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A continuous or progressive aspect is the grammatical aspect that expresses an incomplete action in progress at a specific time: it is a non-habitual, imperfective aspect.

As with other grammatical categories, the precise semantics of the continuous aspect vary from language to language, and from grammarian to grammarian. For example, G.L. Lewis's grammar of Turkish counts the -iyor form as a present tense; Robert Underhill's as a progressive tense; and Jacklin Kornfilt's as both a continuous (nonhabitual imperfective) and a progressive (continuous non-stative) aspect.

The English continuous

Formation
The continuous aspect is expressed with a regularly conjugated form of to be, together with the present participle of the main verb. For example, in the sentence "I was going to the store," the verb phrase was going is in the past continuous tense - that is, in the continuous aspect and the past tense.

The continuous aspect can be applied with any mood, voice, and tense, and in combination or not with the perfect aspect, although for obvious semantic reasons, some combinations are less common than others. Some examples of the continuous aspect include:

We had been talking for hours. (indicative mood, active voice, past tense, perfect continuous aspect)
If you're not going to be working on it the whole time, … (indicative mood, active voice, present tense, continuous aspect)
… then I recommend you at least be working on it when the teacher gets back. (present subjunctive mood, active voice, continuous aspect)
I wish I were being given more interesting tasks. (past subjunctive mood, passive voice, continuous aspect)

Use
The continuous is generally used with actions that are actively on-going at the time in question, and does not focus on the larger time-scale. For example, the sentence "John was playing tennis when Jane called him" indicates what John was in the middle of doing when Jane called him, but does not indicate for how long John played, nor how often he plays; for that, the simple past would be used: "John played tennis three hours every day for several years."

The perfect continuous (have been doing), as a special case, implies that the action being described was interrupted at the time in question, and does not clarify whether the action resumed. For example, "John had been playing tennis when Jane called him" suggests that Jane's calling him interrupted his tennis-playing (whereas in the former example, it was possible that he simply ignored her call), and leaves open the possibility that what she told him required such urgent action that he forfeited his match and left.

In the present tense, the continuous aspect can be used to describe actions that have not begun yet; and in any tense, a similar effect can be achieved with the auxiliary "go" in its continuous aspect. An example of the former is "I'm taking three classes next semester"; of the latter, "I was going to do it if I had time, and then I didn't have time." In this use, this construction has a temporal (tense-like) quality in additional to its usual aspectual one.

The continuous in other languages

French
French does not have a continuous aspect per se; events that English would describe using its continuous aspect, French would describe using a neutral aspect. That being said, French can express a continuous sense using the periphrastic construction être en train de ("to be in the middle of"); for example, English's "we were eating" might be expressed in French either as nous étions en train de manger, or as simply nous mangions.

German
There is no continuous aspect in standard German; however, certain regional dialects, such as those of the Rhineland, the Ruhr Area, and Westphalia, form a continuous aspect using the verb sein (to be), the preposition am (at or on), and an infinitive. For example, ich bin am lesen (literally I am at to read) means I am reading. Known as the rheinische Verlaufsform (roughly Rhenish progressive form), it has become increasingly common in the casual speech of many speakers of standard German, although it is still frowned upon in formal and literary contexts.

Jèrriais
Formed exactly as in Rhenish German, Jèrriais constructs the continuous with verb êt' (be) + à (preposition) + infinitive. For example, j'têmes à mangi translates as we were eating.

Spanish
In Spanish, the continuous is constructed much as in English, using a regularly conjugated form of the verb estar together with the gerundio of the main verb. Unlike in English, the continuous cannot be used to describe an action that has not yet begun at the time of interest; however, in the present tense, the simple present suffices for this, and in any tense, a similar effect can be achieved with the auxiliary ir ("to go") in its non-continuous aspect.

Imperfective aspect
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The imperfective aspect is a grammatical aspect. It refers to an action that is viewed from a particular viewpoint as ongoing, habitual, repeated, or generally containing internal structure, as opposed to the perfective aspect, which views an action as a simple whole (and is not the same as the perfect aspect). In narrative, the imperfective is often used to describe the background situation ("It was midnight. The room was dark. The rain was beating down. Water streamed in through a broken window. A gun lay on the table."), while the perfective describes actions ("Suddenly, a man burst into the room, ran over to the table, and grabbed the gun.").

English does not have a grammatical form that corresponds exactly to the imperfective aspect. The progressive tenses are often used to render the imperfective when it describes an ongoing action ("The rain was beating down"), and past habitual actions are often rendered using "used to" + verb. The simple past, however, can potentially substitute for either case, though, without a significant change in meaning; for example, "The rain beat down" in place of "The rain was beating down", and "I walked to school every day" in place of "I used to walk to school every day". Furthermore, the simple past is almost invariably used to render the imperfective with inherently stative verbs ("was", "had"), and quite often with verbs used in a stative sense ("lay" in the above narrative).

The imperfective aspect is the aspectual component of tenses in various languages, such as Greek, Latin and the Romance languages, known as the imperfect tense. (In some languages, the "imperfect tense" has a different meaning.)

List of English irregular verbs
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a list of irregular verbs in the English language. The citation form (the infinitive) comes first (with a link to the Wiktionary article on the verb), together with the present tense forms when they are different, then the preterite (simple past), and finally the past participle. The right hand column notes whether they are weak or strong and whether they belong to a subclass, and links to discussions elsewhere. Typical irregularities in weak verbs are the assimilation of dentals (bended ? bent) and vowel reduction (*keeped ? kept).

It should be noted that many of these verbs are irregular in American or Commonwealth English only; in many cases, such as "spell" ("spelt" vs. "spelled"), American speech favors the regular form, while Commonwealth speech prefers the irregular. Other examples are "get" ("got" vs. "gotten"), "spill" ("spilt" vs. "spilled"), and "show" ("showed" vs. "shown").

arise arose arisen Strong, class 1
awake awoke awoken Strong, class 6
be (am, is, are) was (were) been Suppletive. See: Indo-European copula.
bear bore born/borne Strong, class 4
beat beat beaten Strong, class 7
become became become Strong, class 4
befall befell befallen Strong, class 7
begin began begun Strong, class 3
behold beheld beheld Strong, class 7
bend bent bent Weak with assimilation of dentals
bereave bereaved/bereft bereaved/bereft Strong, class 6
beseech besought besought Weak with Rückumlaut and Germanic spirant law
beset beset beset Weak with assimilation of dentals
bet bet/betted bet/betted Weak with assimilation of dentals
bid bade/bid bidden/bid Strong, class 5
bind bound bound Strong, class 3
bite bit bitten Strong, class 1
bleed bled bled Weak with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals
blow blew blown Strong, class 7
break broke broken Strong, class 4
breed bred bred Weak with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals
bring brought brought Weak with Rückumlaut and Germanic spirant law
broadcast broadcast broadcast Weak
browbeat browbeat browbeaten Strong, class 7
build built built Weak with assimilation of dentals
burn burned/burnt burned/burnt Weak with assimilation of dentals
burst burst burst Strong, class 3
bust busted/bust busted/bust Weak with assimilation of dentals
buy bought bought Weak with Rückumlaut and Germanic spirant law
can could could Preterite-present; defective
cast cast cast Weak with assimilation of dentals
catch caught caught Weak - a French loanword conjugated perhaps by analogy with teach-taught
chide chid/chided/chode chidden/chided Strong, class 5
choose chose chosen Strong, class 2
cleave clove/cleft cloven/cleft Strong, class 2
cling clung clung Strong, class 3
come came come Strong, class 4
cost cost cost Weak with assimilation of dentals
creep crept crept Weak with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals
cut cut cut Weak with assimilation of dentals
deal dealt dealt Weak with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals
dig dug dug
dive dived/dove dived Strong, class 2
do did done
draw drew drawn Strong, class 6
dream dreamt/dreamed dreamt/dreamed Weak with vowel reduction assimilation of dentals
drink drank drunk Strong, class 3
drive drove driven Strong, class 1
dwell dwelt/dwelled dwelt/dwelled Weak with assimilation of dentals
eat ate eaten Strong, class 5
fall fell fallen Strong, class 7
feed fed fed Weak with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals
feel felt felt Weak with assimilation of dentals
fight fought fought Strong, class 3
find found found Strong, class 3
fit fit/fitted fit/fitted Weak with assimilation of dentals
flee fled fled Weak with vowel reduction
fling flung flung Strong, class 3
fly flew flown Strong, class 2
forbid forbade forbidden Strong, class 5
forecast forecast forecast Weak with assimilation of dentals
forego forewent foregone Suppletive. See: go (verb).
forgo forwent forgone Suppletive. See: go (verb).
foresee foresaw foreseen Strong, class 5
foretell foretold foretold Weak with Rückumlaut
forget forgot forgotten Strong, class 5
forgive forgave forgiven Strong, class 5
forsake forsook forsaken Strong, class 6
freeze froze frozen Strong, class 2
get got got/gotten Strong, class 5
give gave given Strong, class 5
go went gone Suppletive. See: go (verb).
grind ground ground
grow grew grown Strong, class 7
hang hung hung (but hanged for a person) Strong, class 7
have had had
hear heard heard Weak with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals
heave hove/heaved hove/heaved Strong, class 6
hew hewed hewn
hide hid hidden
hit hit hit Weak with assimilation of dentals
hold held held Strong, class 7
hurt hurt hurt Weak with assimilation of dentals
input input input Weak with assimilation of dentals
inset inset inset Weak with assimilation of dentals
interbreed interbred interbred Weak with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals
interweave interwove interwoven Strong, class 7
keep kept kept Weak with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals
kneel knelt knelt Weak with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals
knit knit/knitted knit/knitted Weak with assimilation of dentals
know knew known Strong, class 7
lay laid laid Weak; irregular only in spelling
lead led led Weak with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals
lean leaned/leant leaned/leant Weak with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals
leap leaped/leapt leaped/leapt Weak with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals
learn learned/learnt learned/learnt Weak with assimilation of dentals
leave left left Weak with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals
lend lent lent Weak with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals
let let let Strong, class 7
lie lay lain Strong, class 5
light lit/lighted lit/lighted Weak with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals
lose lost lost Weak with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals
make made made Weak
may might might Preterite-present; defective
mean meant meant Weak with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals
meet met met Strong, class 5
mishear misheard misheard Weak with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals
mislay mislaid mislaid Weak; irregular only in spelling
mislead misled misled Weak with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals
misread misread misread Weak with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals
misspell misspelled/misspelt misspelled/misspelt Weak with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals
mistake mistook mistaken Strong, class 6
misunderstand misunderstood misunderstood Strong, class 6
mow mowed mowed/mown
outbid outbid outbid Strong, class 5
outdo outdid outdone
outgrow outgrew outgrown Strong, class 7
outrun outran outrun Strong, class 3
outsell outsold outsold Weak with Rückumlaut
overcast overcast overcast Weak with assimilation of dentals
overcome overcame overcome Strong, class 4
overdo overdid overdone
overdraw overdrew overdrawn Strong, class 6
overeat overate overeaten Strong, class 5
overhang overhung overhung Strong, class 7
overhear overheard overheard Weak with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals
overlay overlaid overlaid Weak; irregular only in spelling
overlie overlay overlain Strong, class 5
overpay overpaid overpaid Weak; irregular only in spelling
override overrode overridden Strong, class 1
overrun overran overrun Strong, class 3
oversee oversaw overseen Strong, class 5
oversell oversold oversold Weak with Rückumlaut
overshoot overshot overshot Weak with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals
oversleep overslept overslept Weak with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals
overtake overtook overtaken Strong, class 6
overthrow overthrew overthrown Strong, class 7
partake partook partaken Strong, class 6
pay paid paid Weak; irregular only in spelling
plead pleaded/pled pleaded/pled Weak with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals
pre-set pre-set pre-set Weak with assimilation of dentals
proofread proofread proofread Weak with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals
prove proved proved/proven
put put put Weak with assimilation of dentals
quit quit/quitted quit/quitted Weak with assimilation of dentals
read read read Weak with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals
reave reft reft Strong, class 6
rebind rebound rebound Strong, class 3
rebuild rebuilt rebuilt Weak with assimilation of dentals
recast recast recast Weak with assimilation of dentals
rend rent rent Weak with assimilation of dentals
redo redid redone
re-lay re-laid re-laid Weak; irregular only in spelling
remake remade remade Weak
repay repaid repaid Weak; irregular only in spelling
rerun reran rerun Strong, class 3
resell resold resold Weak with Rückumlaut
reset reset reset Weak with assimilation of dentals
rethink rethought rethought Weak with Rückumlaut and Germanic spirant law
rewind rewound rewound
rewrite rewrote rewritten Strong, class 1
rid rid rid
ride rode ridden Strong, class 1
ring rang rung Strong, class 3
rise ris/rose risen Strong, class 1
rive rived/rove riven Strong, class 1
run ran run Strong, class 3
saw sawed sawed/sawn
say said said Weak
see saw seen Strong, class 5
seek sought sought Weak with Rückumlaut and Germanic spirant law
sell sold sold Weak with Rückumlaut
send sent sent Weak with assimilation of dentals
set set set Weak
sew sewed sewed/sewn
shake shook shaken Strong, class 6
shave shaved shaved/shaven
shear sheared sheared/shorn
shed shed shed Weak with assimilation of dentals
shine shone shone Strong, class 1
shit shit/shat shit/shat Strong, class 1
shoe shoed/shod shoed/shod Weak with vowel reduction
shoot shot shot Strong, class 2
show showed showed/shown
shrink shrank shrunk Strong, class 3
shut shut shut Weak
sing sang sung Strong, class 3
sink sank sunk Strong, class 3
sit sat sat Strong, class 5
shall should should Preterite-present; defective; see also Shall and will
slay slew slain Strong, class 6
sleep slept slept Weak with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals
slide slid slid Strong, class 1
sling slung slung Strong, class 3
slink slunk slunk Strong, class 3
slit slit slit Weak
smell smelled/smelt smelled/smelt Weak with assimilation of dentals
smite smote smitten Strong, class 1
sneak sneaked/snuck sneaked/snuck
sow sowed sowed/sown
speak spoke spoken Strong, class 5
speed sped/speeded sped/speeded Weak with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals
spell spelled/spelt spelled/spelt Weak
spend spent spent Weak
spill spilled/spilt spilled/spilt Weak
spin spun spun strong, class 3
spit spit/spat spit
split split split Weak
spoil spoiled/spoilt spoiled/spoilt Weak
spoon-feed spoon-fed spoon-fed Weak with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals
spread spread spread Weak with assimilation of dentals
spring sprang sprung Strong, class 3
stand stood stood Strong, class 6
steal stole stolen Strong, class 4
stick stuck stuck
sting stung stung Strong, class 3
stink stank stunk Strong, class 3
strew strewed strewn/strewed
stride strode stridden Strong, class 1
strike struck struck/stricken
string strung strung Strong, class 3
strive strove/strived striven/strived Strong, class 1
swear swore sworn Strong, class 6
sweep swept swept Weak with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals
swell swelled swelled/swollen Strong, class 3
swim swam swum Strong, class 3
swing swung swung Strong, class 3
take took taken Strong, class 6
teach taught taught Weak with Rückumlaut and Germanic spirant law
tear tore torn Strong, class 4
tell told told Weak with Rückumlaut
think thought thought Weak with Rückumlaut and Germanic spirant law
thrive thrived/throve thrived/thriven
throw threw thrown Strong, class 7
thrust thrust thrust
tread trod/treaded trodden/trod/treaded
unbind unbound unbound Strong, class 3
underlie underlay underlain
understand understood understood Strong, class 6
undertake undertook undertaken Strong, class 6
underwrite underwrote underwritten Strong, class 1
undo undid undone
unwind unwound unwound Strong, class 3
uphold upheld upheld Strong, class 7
upset upset upset Weak with assimilation of dentals
wake woke woken Strong, class 6
waylay waylaid waylaid Weak; irregular only in spelling
wear wore worn
weave wove woven Strong, class 7
wed wed/wedded wed/wedded Weak with assimilation of dentals
weep wept wept Weak with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals
wet wet/wetted wet/wetted Weak with assimilation of dentals
win won won Strong, class 3
wind wound wound Strong, class 3
withdraw withdrew withdrawn Strong, class 6
withhold withheld withheld Strong, class 7
withstand withstood withstood Strong, class 6
work worked/wrought worked/wrought Weak
wring wrung wrung Strong, class 3
write wrote written Strong, class 1

Additional note: These verbs from the list above are spelt the same in the simple past as in the present tense (excluding compounds such as set, beset, inset, upset etc.): beat, bet, burst, cast, cost, cut, hit, hurt, let, put, read, rid, set, shed, shut, slit, split, spread.

^ English ^ (edit template)
General: Introduction - Grammar
Parts of speech: Nouns - Verbs - Pronouns - Adjectives - Adverbs - Conjunctions - Prepositions - Interjections
Other English topics: Gerunds and participles - Orthography - Punctuation - Syntax - Appositives - Figures of Syntax

Verbs are action words (sometimes described as 'doing' words,) that show what the subject (a noun or pronoun) is doing. They are a requirement of any sentence in the English language.

An Active verb is a verb in an active sentence, in which the subject performs the verb. An example of an active verb in an active sentence is 'I hit the dog.'

A Passive verb is a verb in a passive sentence. In a passive sentence, the action is performed upon the subject. An example of this is: 'The dog was hit by me.'. The two sentences have the same denotative meaning, but their connotative meaning is quite different; active verbs are much more powerful and personal.

There are two forms of passive voice: "He gave me the book." => "The book was given to me." or "I was given the book." The second form is preferred.

English, like many Germanic languages, contains both strong (or irregular; they aren't quite the same thing) and weak (regular) verbs. Irregular verbs are one of the more difficult aspects of learning English. Each irregular verb must be memorized, because they are not often easy to identify otherwise.

When talking about actions that took place in the past, add ed to the end of the verb root. E.g., walk becomes walked.
When talking about actions that take place in the present, add s to the end of the verb root when the subject of the sentence is in the third person (not yourself or the person to whom you are speaking).
When talking about actions that take place in the future, add the word will before the verb.
To describe an action that takes place over a length of time, add the appropriate form of the verb to be before the verb and add ing to the end of the verb root.
To describe an action that has been completed, change the verb root to put it in the past tense (see the first point) and add the appropriate form of the verb to have (note that you can have to have in any tense you want, but keep the main verb in the past) before the verb.
Also note that you can combine the previous two points by putting the appropriate form of to have before the past participle of to be (been), and putting both of them before the verb.
A Verb is a word that signifies to be, to act, or to be acted upon: as, I am, I rule, I am ruled; I love, thou lovest, he loves. VERBS are so called, from the Latin Verbum, a Word; because the verb is that word which most essentially contains what is said in any clause or sentence.

An English verb has four CHIEF TERMS, or PRINCIPAL PARTS, ever needful to be ascertained in the first place; namely, the Present, the Preterit, the Imperfect Participle, and the Perfect Participle. The Present is that form of the verb, which is the root of all the rest; the verb itself; or that simple term which we should look for in a dictionary: as, be, act, rule, love, defend, terminate.

The Preterit is that simple form of the verb, which denotes time past; and which is always connected with some noun or pronoun, denoting the subject of the assertion: as, I was, I acted, I ruled, I loved, I defended.

The Imperfect Participle is that which ends commonly in ing, and implies a continuance of the being, action, or passion: as, being, acting, ruling, loving, defending, terminating.

The Perfect Participle is that which ends commonly in ed or en, and implies a completion of the being, action, or passion: as, been, acted, ruled, loved.

Verbs are divided, with respect to their form, into four classes; regular and irregular, redundant and defective.

A regular verb is a verb that forms the preterit and the perfect participle by assuming d or ed; as, love, loved, loving, loved.

An irregular verb is a verb that does not form the preterit and the perfect participle by assuming d or ed; as, see, saw, seeing, seen.

A redundant verb is a verb that forms the preterit or the perfect participle in two or more ways, and so as to be both regular and irregular; as, thrive, thrived or throve, thriving, thrived or thriven.

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.

Verbs are divided again, with respect to their signification, into four classes; active-transitive, active-intransitive, passive, and neuter.

An active-transitive verb is a verb that expresses an action which has some person or thing for its object; as,

An active-intransitive verb is a verb that expresses an action which has no person or thing for its object; as,

A passive verb is a verb that represents its subject, or what the nominative expresses, as being acted upon; as,

A neuter verb is a verb that expresses neither action nor passion, but simply being, or a state of being; as,

Verbs have modifications of four kinds; namely, Moods, Tenses, Persons and Numbers.

Moods.
Moods are different forms of the verb, each of which expresses the being, action, or passion, in some particular manner.

There are five moods; the Infinitive, the Indicative, the Potential, the Subjunctive, and the Imperative.

The Infinitive mood is that form of the verb, which expresses the being, action, or passion, in an unlimited manner, and without person or number: as,

"To die,--to sleep;--To sleep!--perchance, to dream!" (from Hamlet by William Shakespeare)
The Indicative mood is that form of the verb, which simply indicates or declares a thing: as,

Do you know?
Know ye not?
The Potential mood is that form of the verb which expresses the power, liberty, possibility, or necessity, of the being, action, or passion: as,

I can walk.
He may ride.
We must go.
The Subjunctive mood is that form of the verb, which represents the being, action, or passion, as conditional, doubtful, and contingent: as,

"If thou go, see that thou offend not."
"See thou do it not."--Rev., xix, 10.
God save the queen.
It is a requirement that ... be done.
It's high time you were in bed.
If I were you,...
The Imperative mood is that form of the verb which is used in commanding, exhorting, entreating, or permitting: as,

"Depart thou."
"Be comforted."
"Forgive me."
"Go in peace."

Tenses.
Tenses are those modifications of the verb, which distinguish time. There are six tenses; the Present, the Imperfect or Past, the Perfect, the Pluperfect, the First-future, and the Second-future. You could even say there are twelve tenses because each of those comes in simple and in progressive forms, which have different meaning.

The Present tense simple is that which expresses what now exists, is normal or correlated to senses. It is used with adverbs like always, generally.

There is a house in New Orleans.
I read a book every week.
I hear a noise.
The Present tense continuous is that which expresses what is happening just now:

I am reading a letter.
The car is running at high speed.
The Past tense simple is that which expresses what took place in time fully past. It is used with adverbs like yesterday, last week. (The past tense is sometimes called Imperfect, but this does not fit its meaning, as can be seen from the examples. This name is derived from Latin where it was correct.)

Last week, I read several of Shaw's novels.
The Past tense continuous is that which expresses what was taking place when (suddenly) something else occurred.

I saw him yesterday, and hailed him as he was passing.
I was giving a presentation when the microphone broke.
The Present perfect tense simple is that which expresses what has taken place, within some period of time not yet fully past, or is still valid. It is used with adverbs like ever, never, today, this week.

I have read several of Shaw's novels.
I have seen him to-day; something must have detained him.
Have you ever tried fugu fish?
The Present perfect tense continuous is that which which started in the past and has not yet finished.

Since I have been standing here, five planes took off.
The Pluperfect tense simple is that which expresses what had taken place, at some past time mentioned, before something other happened.

I had seen him, when I met you.
As soon as my car had been repaired, I could continue my trip.
The Pluperfect tense continuous is that which expresses what had started before and was still going on, when something else occurred.

I had been listening to the radio when she dropped in.
The First-future tense simple is that which expresses what will take place hereafter.

"I shall see him again, and I will inform him."
The First-future tense continuous is that which expresses what will be currently taking place at a certain time in future.

"I will be swimming in the sea by the time you'll awake."
The Second-future tense simple is that which expresses what will have taken place at some future time mentioned.

"I shall have seen him by tomorrow noon."
The Second-future tense continuous is that which expresses what will have started at some time and will still be ongoing, at some future time mentioned.

"I will have been swimming in the sea for four hours by the time you'll awake tomorrow."

Voice
Voice of speech can be active or passive. Principally in passive voice the same tenses can be used as in active voice.

He gave me the book.
The book was given to me.
I was given the book.
There are however some things to note.

They build a house.
The house is built.
Here active and passive do not really represent the same tense. If for example you describe a picture where people build a house, the first sentence is perfectly correct. The second sentence however will be interpreted as the static perfect of the sentence

The house has been built - it is built now.
This is, the house is now ready and not under construction. So the correct passive form is

The house is being built.
Passive voice can be built quite formally by adhering to some rules. You will however not find normally all tenses as in active voice. Formal rules will lead you to monstrosities like the following, you will certainly never hear (already the active sentence is quite monstrous):

The speech will have been being held for four hours when finally you'll arrive.
(The president will have been holding a speech for four hours when finally you'll arrive.)

Persons and numbers.
The person and number of a verb are those modifications in which it agrees with its subject or nominative.

Singular. 1st per. I love, 3d per. He loves; Plural. 1. We love, 2. You love, 3. They love.

Definitions universally applicable have already been given of all these things; it is therefore unnecessary to define them again in this place.

Where the verb is varied, the third person singular is regularly formed by adding s or es: as, I see, he sees; I give, he gives; I go, he goes; I fly, he flies; I vex, he vexes; I lose, he loses.

Where the verb is not varied to denote its person and number, these properties are inferred from its subject or nominative: as, If I love, if he love; if we love, if you love, if they love.

The conjugation of verbs.
The conjugation of a verb is a regular arrangement of its moods, tenses, persons, numbers, and participles.

There are four PRINCIPAL PARTS in the conjugation of every simple and complete verb; namely, the Present, the Preterit, the Imperfect Participle, and the Perfect Participle. A verb which wants any of these parts, is called defective; such are most of the auxiliaries.

An auxiliary is a short verb prefixed to one of the principal parts of an other verb, to express some particular mode and time of the being, action, or passion. The auxiliaries are do, be, have, shall, will, may, can, and must, with their variations.

To do.

Present tense; and sign of the indicative present.
Sing. I do, he does; Plur. We do, you do, they do.

Imperfect tense; and sign of the indicative imperfect.
Sing. I did, he did; Plur. We did, you did, they did.

To be.

Present tense; and sign of the indicative present.
Sing. I am, he is; Plur. We are, you are, they are.

Imperfect tense; and sign of the indicative imperfect.
Sing. I was, he was; Plur. We were, you were; they were.

To have.
[edit]
Present tense; but sign of the indicative perfect.
Sing. I have, he has; Plur. We have, you have, they have.

Imperfect tense; but sign of the indicative pluperfect.
Sing. I had, he had; Plur. We had, you had, they had.

Shall and will.
Often confused with each other in modern English.
These auxiliaries have distinct meanings, and, as signs of the future, they are interchanged thus:

Present tense; but sign of the indicative first-future.
Simply to express a future action or event:--

Imperfect tense; but, as signs, aorist, or indefinite.
Used with reference to duty or expediency:--

May.

Present tense; and sign of the potential present.
Sing. I may, he may; Plur. We may, you may, they may.

Imperfect tense; and sign of the potential imperfect.
Sing. I might, he might; Plur. We might, you might, they might.

Can.

Present tense; and sign of the potential present.
Sing. I can, he can; Plur. We can, you can, they can.

Imperfect tense; and sign of the potential imperfect.
Sing. I could, he could; Plur. We could, you could, they could.

Must.

Present tense; and sign of the potential present.
Sing. I must, he must; Plur. We must, you must, they must.

If must is ever used in the sense of the Imperfect tense, or Preterit, the form is the same as that of the Present: this word is entirely invariable.

Verb may be conjugated in four ways.
Affirmatively; as, I write, I do write, or, I am writing; and so on.

Interrogatively and negatively; as, Write I not? Do I not write? or, Am I not writing?

Simple form, active or neuter.
The simplest form of an English conjugation, is that which makes the present and imperfect tenses without auxiliaries; but, even in these, auxiliaries are required for the potential mood, and are often preferred for the indicative.

The regular active verb LOVE, conjugated affirmatively.

Principal parts.
Present. Preterit. Imperfect Perfect
Participle. Participle.
Love. Loved. Loving. Loved.

Infinite mood.
The infinitive mood is that form of the verb, which expresses the being, action, or passion, in an unlimited manner, and without person or number. It is used only in the present and perfect tenses.

Present tense.
This tense is the root, or radical verb; and is usually preceded by the preposition to, which shows its relation to some other word: thus,

Perfect tense.
This tense prefixes the auxiliary have to the perfect participle; and, like the infinitive present, is usually preceded by the preposition to: thus,

Indicative mood.
The indicative mood is that form of the verb, which simply indicates or declares a thing, or asks a question. It is used in all the tenses.

Present tense.
The present indicative, in its simple form, is essentially the same as the present infinitive, or radical verb; except that the verb be has am in the indicative.

Singular. I do love, He does love; Plural. We do love, You do love, They do love.

Imperfect tense.
This tense, in its simple form is the preterit; which, in all regular verbs, adds d or ed to the present, but in others is formed variously.

This tense may also be formed by prefixing the auxiliary did to the present: thus,

Singular. I did love, He did love; Plural. We did love, You did love, They did love.

Perfect tense.
This tense prefixes the auxiliary have to the perfect participle: thus,

Singular. I have loved, He has loved; Plural. We have loved, You have loved, They have loved.

Pluperfect tense.
This tense prefixes the auxiliary had to the perfect participle: thus,

Singular. I had loved, He had loved; Plural. We had loved, You had loved, They had loved.

First-future tense.
This tense prefixes the auxiliary shall or will to the present: thus,

Singular. I shall love, He will love; Plural. We shall love, You will love, They will love.

Singular. I will love, He shall love; Plural. We will love, You shall love, They shall love.

Second-future tense.
This tense prefixes the auxiliaries shall have or will have to the perfect participle: thus,

Singular. I shall have loved, He will have loved; Plural. We shall have loved, You will have loved, They will have loved.

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. I may love, He may love; Plural. We may love, You may love, They may love.

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

Singular. I might love, He might love; Plural. We might love, You might love, They might love.

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

Singular. I may have loved, He may have loved; Plural. We may have loved, You may have loved, 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. I might have loved, He might have loved; Plural. We might have loved, You might have loved, 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. It is used in the present, and sometimes in the imperfect tense; rarely--and perhaps never properly--in any other. As this mood can be used only in a dependent clause, the time implied in its tenses is always relative, and generally indefinite; as,

"It shall be in eternal restless change, Self-fed, and self-consum'd: if this fail, The pillar'd firmament is rottenness."--Milton, Comus, l. 596.

Present tense.
This tense is generally used to express some condition on which a future action or event is affirmed. It is therefore erroneously considered by some grammarians, as an elliptical form of the future.

"An event which, if it ever do occur, must occur in some future period."--Hiley's Gram., (3d Ed., Lond.,) p. 89.

"Till old experience do attain To something like prophetic strain."--MILTON: Il Penseroso.

These examples, if they are right, prove the tense to be present, and not future, as Hiley and some others suppose it to be.

Imperfect tense.
This tense, like the imperfect of the potential mood, with which it is frequently connected, is properly an aorist, or indefinite tense; for it may refer to time past, present, or future: as,

"If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, what further need was there that an other priest should rise?"--Heb., vii, 11.

"They must be viewed exactly in the same light, as if the intention to purchase now existed."--Murray's Parsing Exercises, p. 24.

"If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing?"--1 Corinthians, xii, 17.

Singular. If I loved, If he loved; Plural. If we loved, If you loved, If they loved.

Imperative mood.
The imperative mood is that form of the verb, which is used in commanding, exhorting, entreating, or permitting. It is commonly used only in the second person of the present tense.

Participles.
The Imperfect. The Perfect. The Preperfect.
Loving. Loved. Having loved.

The irregular active verb SEE, conjugated affirmatively.

Principal parts.
Present. Preterit. Imp. Participle. Perf. Participle.
See. Saw. Seeing. Seen.

Infinitive mood.
PRESENT TENSE. To See.

Indicative mood.
PRESENT TENSE. Singular. I see, He sees; Plural. We see, You see, They see.

PERFECT TENSE. Singular. I have seen,He has seen; Plural. We have seen, You have seen, They have seen.

PLUPERFECT TENSE. Singular. I had seen, He had seen; Plural. We had seen, You had seen, They had seen.

FIRST-FUTURE TENSE. Singular. I shall see, He will see; Plural. We shall see, You will see, They will see.

SECOND-FUTURE TENSE. Singular. I shall have seen, He will have seen; Plural. We shall have seen, You will have seen, They will have seen.

Potential mood.
PRESENT TENSE. Singular. I may see, He may see; Plural. We may see, You may see, They may see.

IMPERFECT TENSE. Singular. I might see, He might see; Plural. We might see, You might see, They might see.

PERFECT TENSE. Singular. I may have seen, He may have seen; Plural. We may have seen, You may have seen, They may have seen.

PLUPERFECT TENSE. Singular. I might have seen, He might have seen; Plural. We might have seen, You might have seen, They might have seen.

Subjunctive mood.
PRESENT TENSE. Singular. If I see, If he see; Plural. If we see, If you see, If they see.

IMPERFECT TENSE. Singular. If I saw, If he saw; Plural. If we saw, If you saw, If they saw.

Imperative mood.
PRESENT TENSE. Singular. Do thou see; Plural. See [you,] or Do you see.

Participles.
The Imperfect. The Perfect. The Preperfect.
Seeing. Seen. Having seen.

The irregular neuter verb BE, conjugated affirmatively.

Principal parts.
Present. Preterit. Imp. Participle. Perf. Participle.
Be. Was. Being. Been.

Infinitive mood.
PRESENT TENSE. To be.

Indicative mood.
PRESENT TENSE. Singular. I am, He is; Plural. We are, You are, They are.

PERFECT TENSE. Singular. I have been, He has been; Plural. We have been, You have been, They have been.

PLUPERFECT TENSE. Singular. I had been, He had been; Plural. We had been, You had been, They had been.

FIRST-FUTURE TENSE. Singular. I shall be, He will be; Plural. We shall be, You will be, They will be.

SECOND-FUTURE TENSE. Singular. We shall have been, He will have been; Plural. We shall have been, You will have been, They will have been.

Potential mood.
PRESENT TENSE. Singular. I may be, He may be; Plural. We may be, You may be, They may be.

IMPERFECT TENSE. Singular. I might be, He might be; Plural. We might be, You might be, They might be.

PERFECT TENSE. Singular. I may have been, He may have been; Plural. We may have been, You may have been, They may have been.

PLUPERFECT TENSE. Singular. I might have been, He might have been; Plural. We might have been, You might have been, They might have been.

Subjunctive mood.
PRESENT TENSE. Singular. If I be, If he be; Plural. If we be, If you be, If they be.

IMPERFECT TENSE. Singular. If I were, If he were; Plural. If we were, If you were, If they were.

Participles.
The Imperfect. The Perfect. The Preperfect.
Being. Been. Having been.

Compound or progressive form.
Active and neuter verbs may also be conjugated, by adding the Imperfect Participle to the auxiliary verb BE, through all its changes; as,

This form of the verb denotes a continuance of the action or state of being, and is, on many occasions, preferable to the simple form of the verb.

The irregular active verb READ, conjugated affirmatively, in the Compound Form.

Principal parts of the simple verb.
Present. Preterit. Imp. Participle. Perf. Participle.
Read. Read. Reading. Read.

Infinitive mood.
PRESENT TENSE. To be reading.

Indicative mood.
PRESENT TENSE. Singular. I am reading, He is reading; Plural. We are reading, You are reading, They are reading.

IMPERFECT TENSE. Singular. I was reading, He was reading; Plural. We were reading, You were reading, They were reading.

PERFECT TENSE. Singular. I have been reading, He has been reading; Plural. We have been reading, You have been reading, They have been reading.

PLUPERFECT TENSE. Singular. I had been reading, He had been reading; Plural. We had been reading, You had been reading, They had been reading.

FIRST-FUTURE TENSE. Singular. I shall be reading, He will be reading; Plural. We shall be reading, You will be reading, They will be reading.

SECOND-FUTURE TENSE. Singular. I shall have been reading, He will have been reading; Plural. We shall have been reading, You will have been reading, They will have been reading.

Potential mood.
PRESENT TENSE. Singular. I may be reading, He may be reading; Plural. We may be reading, You may be reading, They may be reading.

IMPERFECT TENSE. Singular. I might be reading, He might be reading; Plural. We might be reading, You might be reading, They might be reading.

PERFECT TENSE. Singular. I may have been reading, He may have been reading; Plural. We may have been reading, You may have been reading, They may have been reading.

PLUPERFECT TENSE. Singular. I might have been reading, He might have been reading; Plural. We might have been reading, You might have been reading, They might have been reading.

Subjunctive mood.
PRESENT TENSE. Singular. If I be reading, If he be reading; Plural. If we be reading, If you be reading, If they be reading.

IMPERFECT TENSE. Singular. If I were reading, If he were reading; Plural. If we were reading, If you were reading, If they were reading.

Participles.
The Imperfect. The Perfect. The Preperfect.
Being reading. --------- Having been reading.

Form of passive verbs.
Passive verbs, in English, are always of a compound form; being made from active-transitive verbs, by adding the Perfect Participle to the auxiliary verb BE, through all its changes: thus from the active-transitive verb love, is formed the passive verb be loved.

The regular passive verb BE LOVED, conjugated affirmatively.

Principal parts of the active verb.
Present. Preterit. Imp. Participle. Perf. Participle.
Love. Loved. Loving. Loved.

Infinitive mood.
PRESENT TENSE. To be loved.

Indicative mood.
PRESENT TENSE. Singular. I am loved, He is loved; Plural. We are loved, You are loved, They are loved.

IMPERFECT TENSE. Singular. I was loved, He was loved; Plural. We were loved, You were loved, They were loved.

PERFECT TENSE. Singular. I have been loved, He has been loved; Plural. We have been loved, You have been loved, They have been loved.

PLUPERFECT TENSE. Singular. I had been loved, He had been loved; Plural. We had been loved, You had been loved, They had been loved.

FIRST-FUTURE TENSE. Singular. I shall be loved, He will be loved; Plural. We shall be loved, You will be loved, They will be loved.

SECOND-FUTURE TENSE. Singular. I shall have been loved, He will have been loved; Plural. We shall have been loved, You will have been loved, They will have been loved.

Potential mood.
PRESENT TENSE. Singular. I may be loved, He may be loved; Plural. We may be loved, You may be loved, They may be loved.

IMPERFECT TENSE. Singular. I might be loved, He might be loved; Plural. We might be loved, You might be loved, They might be loved.

PERFECT TENSE. Singular. I may have been loved, He may have been loved; Plural. We may have been loved, You may have been loved, They may have been loved.

PLUPERFECT TENSE. Singular. I might have been loved, He might have been loved; Plural. We might have been loved, You might have been loved, They might have been loved.

Subjunctive mood.
PRESENT TENSE. Singular. If I be loved, If he be loved; Plural. If we be loved, If you be loved, If they be loved.

IMPERFECT TENSE. Singular. If I were loved, If he were loved; Plural. If we were loved, If you were loved, If they were loved.

Participles.
The Imperfect. The Perfect. The Preperfect.
Being loved. Loved. Having been loved.

Form of negation.
A verb is conjugated negatively, by placing the adverb not after it, or after the first auxiliary; but the infinitive and participles take the negative first: as, Not to love, Not to have loved; Not loving, Not loved, Not having loved.

First person singular.
IND. I love not, or I do not love; I loved not, or I did not love; I have not loved; I had not loved; I shall not, or will not, love; I shall not, or will not, have loved.

POT. I may, can, or must not love; I might, could, would, or should not love; I may, can, or must not have loved; I might, could, would, or should not have loved,