arrangement of its different forms which coincide with its varied significations, subjects, times, and transits. The following forms of the assertive to write, indicate an imperfect requisite, and coincide with the prefixed significations, subjects, times, and transits. The requisite in each of the examples in the following exposition is a letter, and it is called an imperfect requisite, because it cannot be finished when we are only in the act of writing it, which is the thing asserted in each of the examples following: EXPOSITION OF THE ASSERTIVE, To write.* ciple written. All our writers on Grammar tell us that, I write, thou writest, or he writes, is the present of the verb active to write. We insist that "I write a letter to my uncle now, thou writest a letter to my uncle now, or he writes a letter to my uncle now," is bad English; and that "I write, thou writest, or he writes," is not the present of the verb active to write (as they call it), but the passing transit of the inactive verb to write. When we say," I write, thou writest, or he writes," we do not assert that the subject is in the act of writing, we only assert that the subject is capable of writing, or is in the habit of writing. Hence, to assert of the subject he, the habit or capability of writing, we say, he writes, but to assert of the same subject the act of writing, we must say, he is writing. The preceding observation shows why you can correctly say, he writes English now, and why you cannot say, he writes a letter now. 1. I write 2. Thou writest 3. He writes a letter. 1. We 2. You 3. They write a letter. This form of the assertive is used to express a habit, custom, or general truths, but not particular acts. Shall, may, can, should, might, could, can be employed in the same manner as will and would in the last two ex The future of the primitive signification cannot be converted into the link significations, as it is only used to command, entreat or exhort. The auxiliary significations can be converted into link significations as well as the primitive, by prefixing the link if, or any other that destroys the assertion, and converts the sentence into a species of sentence-descriptive, explanatory of the signification of the other assertive which the link unites; as, The following forms of the assertive to write, denote a perfect or finished requisite, and correspond to the prefixed significations, subjects, times, and transits. A finished requisite cannot be united in construction with the passing transit. All the foregoing primitive and auxiliary significations of the assertive to write, which denote a perfect or finished requisite, can be converted into link significations, without making any change in the forms of the assertives themselves, by simply prefixing the link if, or any other that destroys the assertion. See the definition of the link signification, page 28. |