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A verb is a word which signifies to BE, to DO, or to SUFFER; as, I am; I rule; I am ruled.

Verbs are of three kinds, active, passive, and neuter. They are also divided into regular, irregular, and defective.

The term verb is derived from the Latin word verbum, which signifies a word. This part of speech is called a verb or word, because it is deemed the most important word in every sentence: and without a verb and nominative, either expressed or implied, no sentence can exist. The noun is the original and leading part of speech; the verb comes next in order, and is far more complex than the noun. These two are the most useful in the language, and form the basis of the science of grammar. The other eight parts of speech are subordinate to these two, and, as you will hereafter learn, of minor importance.

For all practical purposes, the foregoing definition and division of the verb, though, perhaps, not philosophically correct, will be found as convenient as any other. I adopt them, therefore, to be consistent with the principle, that, in arranging the materials of this treatise, I shall not alter or reject any established definition, rule, or principle of grammar, unless, in my humble judgment, some practical advantage to the learner is thereby gained. The following, some consider a good definition.

A VERB is a word which expresses affirmation.

An active verb expresses action; and The nominative case is the actor, or subject of the verb; as, John writes.

In this example, which is the verb? You know it is the word writes, because this word signifies to do; that is, it expresses action, therefore, according to the definition, it is an active verb. And you know, too, that the noun John is the actor, therefore John is in the nominative case to the verb writes. In the expressions, The man walks—The boy plays—Thunders roll— Warriors fight—you perceive that the words walks, plays, roll, and fight, are active verbs; and you cannot be at a loss to know, that the nouns man, boy, thunders, and warriors, are in the nominative case.

As no action can be produced without some agent or moving cause, it follows, that every active verb must have some actor or agent. This actor, doer, or producer of the action, is the nominative. Nominative, from the Latin nomino, literally signifies to name; but in the technical sense in which it is used in grammar, it means the noun or pronoun which is the subject of affirmation. This subject or nominative may be active, passive, or neuter, as hereafter exemplified.

A neuter verb expresses neither action nor passion, but being, or a state of being; as, John sits.

Now, in this example, John is not represented as an actor, but, as the subject of the verb sits, therefore John is in the nominative case to the verb. And you know that the word sits does not express apparent action, but a condition of being; that is, it represents John in a particular state of existence; therefore sits is a neuter verb. In speaking of the neuter gender of nouns, I informed you, that neuter means neither; from which it follows, that neuter gender implies neither gender; that is, neither masculine nor feminine. Hence, by an easy transition of thought, you learn, that neuter, when applied to verbs, means neither of the other two classes; that is, a neuter verb is one which is neither active nor passive. In these examples, The man stands—The lady lives—The child sleeps—The world exists—the words stands, lives, sleeps, and exists, are neuter verbs; and the nouns, man, lady, child, and world, are all in the nominative case, because each is the subject of a verb. Thus you perceive, that when a noun is in the nominative case to an active verb, it is the actor; and when it is nominative to a neuter verb, it is not an actor, but the subject of the verb.

Some neuter verbs express being in general; as, The man is; Kingdoms exist. Others express being in some particular state; as, The man stands, sits, lies, or hangs.

I will now give you two signs, which will enable you to distinguish the verb from other parts of speech, when you cannot tell it by its signification. Any word that will make sense with to before it, is a verb. Thus, to run, to write, to smile, to sing, to hear, to ponder, to live, to breathe, are verbs. Or, any word that will conjugate, is a verb. Thus, I run, thou runnest, he runs; I write, thou writest, he writes; I smile, &c. But the words, boy, lady, child, and world, will not make sense with to prefixed—to boy, to lady, to world, is nonsense. Neither will they conjugate—I lady, thou ladiest, &c. is worse than nonsense. Hence you perceive, that these words are not verbs. There are some exceptions to these rules, for verbs are sometimes used as nouns. This will be explained by and by.

To verbs belong number, person, mood, and tense.

At present I shall speak only of the number and person of verbs; but hereafter I will give you a full explanation of all their properties. And permit me to inform you, that I shall not lead you into the intricacies of the science, until, by gradual and easy progressions, you are enabled to comprehend the principles involved in them. Only such principles will be elucidated, as you are prepared to understand at the time they are unfolded before you. You must not be too anxious to get along rapidly; but endeavor to become thoroughly acquainted with one principle, before you undertake another. This lecture will qualify you for the next.

NUMBER AND PERSON OF VERBS. You recollect, that the nominative is the actor or subject, and the active verb is the action performed by the nominative. By this you perceive, that a very intimate connexion or relation exists between the nominative case and the verb. If, therefore, only one creature or thing acts, only one action, at the same instant, can be done; as, The girl writes. The nominative girl is here of the singular number, because it signifies but one person; and the verb writes denotes but one action, which the girl performs; therefore the verb writes is of the singular number, agreeing with its nominative girl. When the nominative case is plural, the verb must be plural; as, girls write. Take notice, the singular verb ends in s, but the noun is generally plural when it ends in s; thus, The girl writes—the girls write.

Person, strictly speaking, is a quality that belongs not to verbs, but to nouns and pronouns. We say, however, that the verb must agree with its nominative in person, as well as in number; that is, the verb must be spelled and spoken in such a manner as to correspond with the first, second, or third person of the noun or pronoun which is its nominative.

I will now show you how the verb is varied in order to agree with its nominative in number and person. I, Thou, He, She, It; We, Ye or You, They, are personal pronouns. I is of the first person, and singular number; Thou is second person, sing.; He, She, or It, is third per. sing.; We is first per. plural; Ye or You is second per. plural; They is third per. plural. These pronouns are the representatives of nouns, and perform the same office that the nouns would for which they stand. When placed before the verb, they are, therefore, the nominatives to the verb.

Notice particularly, the different variations or endings of the verb, as it is thus conjugated in the