Singular. 2. Be [thou,] or Do thou be;
2. Be [ye or you,] or Do you be.

Plural.

OBS.-In the familiar style, the second person singular of this verb is usually formed thus: IND. Thou art, Thou was, Thou hast been, Thou had been, Thou will be, Thou will have been. Por. Thou may be, Thou might be, Thou may have been, Thou might have been. SUBJ. If thou be, If thou IMP. Be [thou,] or Do thou be.

were.

II. COMPOUND FORM, ACTIVE OR NEUTER.

Active and neuter verbs may also be conjugated, by adding the Imperfect Participle to the auxiliary verb BE, through all its changes; as, I am writing-He is sitting. This form of the verb denotes a continuance* of the action or the state of being, and is, on many occasions, preferable to the simple form of the verb.

OBS.-Verbs of this form have sometimes à passive signification; as, "The books are now selling."-Allen's Gram., p. 82. "It requires no motion in the organs whilst it is forming."-Murray's Gram., p. 8. "While the work of the temple was carrying on.' -Dr. J. Owen. "The designs of Providence are carrying on."-Bp. Butler. "We are permitted to know nothing of what is transacting in the regions above us."-Dr. Blair. Expressions of this kind are condemned by some critics; but the usage is unquestionably of far better authority, and (according to my apprehension) in far better taste, than the more complex phraseology which some late writers adopt in its stead; as, "The books are now being sold."

FOURTH EXAMPLE.

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

Principal Parts of the Simple Verb.

*Those verbs which, in their simple form, imply continuance, do not admit compound form; thus we say, "I respect him;" but not, "I am respecting himl

might be reading,

2. Thou mightst be reading, 3. He might be reading;

Singular. 1. I

Plural.

1. We might be reading, 2. You might be reading, 3. They might be reading,

Perfect Tense.

may have been reading,

2. Thou mayst have been reading,
3. He may have been reading;

Plural. 1. We may have been reading,
2. You may have been reading,
3. They may have been reading.
Pluperfect Tense.

Singular. 1. I

Plural.

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

SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD.

Present Tense.

Sing. 2. Be [thou]

Present Tense.

reading, or Do thou be reading;

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

PARTICIPLES.

1. The Imperfect. Being reading.

2. The Perfect.

3. The Preperfect. Having been reading.

OBS.-In the familiar style, the second person singular of this verb, is usually formed thus: IND. Thou art reading, Thou was reading, Thou hast been reading, Thou had been reading, Thou will be reading, Thou will have been reading. POT. Thou may be reading, Thou might be reading, Thou may have been reading, Thou might have been reading. SUBJ. If thou be reading, If thou were reading. IMP. Be [thou] reading, or Do thou be reading.

III. 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.

OBS. 1.-A few active-intransitive verbs, that merely imply motion, or change of condition, may be put into this form, with a neuter signification; making not passive but neuter verbs, which express nothing more than the state which results from the change: as, I am come; He is risen; They are fallen. Our ancient writers, after the manner of the French, very frequently employed this mode of conjugation in a neuter sense; but, with a few exceptions, present usage is clearly in favour of the auxiliary have in preference to be, whenever the verb formed with the perfect participle is not passive; as, They have arrived-not, They are arrived.

OBS. 2.-Passive verbs may be distinguished from neuter verbs of the same form, by a reference to the agent or instrument; which frequently is, and always may be, expressed after passive verbs; but which never is, and never can be, expressed after neuter verbs: as, "The thief has been caught by the officer." Pens are made with a knife."

FIFTH EXAMPLE.

The regular passive verb BE LOVED, conjugated affirmatively. Principal Parts of the Active Verb.