or passively.  Actively, ’They plough the fields; they are ploughing the fields; they ploughed, or have ploughed, the fields.’  Passively, ’The fields plough well; the fields are ploughing; the fields are ploughed.’  This passive use of the present tense and participle is, however, restricted to what he denominates ’verbs of external, material, or mechanical action;’ and not to be extended to verbs of sensation and perception; e.g. love, feel, see, &c.”—­Nutting’s Gram., p. 40.

MODIFICATIONS.

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

MOODS.

Moods [229] 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!”

The Indicative mood is that form of the verb, which simply indicates or declares a thing:  as, I write; you know:  or asks a question; 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.

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.”

OBSERVATIONS.

OBS. 1.—­The Infinitive mood is so called in opposition to the other moods, in which the verb is said to be finite.  In all the other moods, the verb has a strict connexion, and necessary agreement in person and number, with some subject or nominative, expressed or understood; but the infinitive is the mere verb, without any such agreement, and has no power of completing sense with a noun.  In the nature of things, however, all being, action, or passion, not contemplated abstractly as a thing, belongs to something that is, or acts, or is acted upon.  Accordingly infinitives