The irregular verbs are commonly reckoned eight: sum, eo, queo, volo, nolo, málo, fero, and fio, with their compounds.

But properly there are only six: nolo and malo being compounds of volo.

SUM has already been conjugated. After the same manner are formed its compounds, ad-, ab-, de-, inter-, præ-, ob-, sub-, super-sum, and in-sum, which wants the preterite; thus, adsum, adfui, adesse, &c.

PROSUM, to do good, has a d where sum begins with e; as,

prod-este.

In the other parts it is like sum: Pro-sim, -sis, &c. Pro-fui, -fueram, &c.

mus.

POSSUM is compounded of potis, able, and sum; and is thus conjugated :

The compounds of Eo are conjugated after the same manner; ăd-, ăb-, ex-, õb-, red-, sub-, pĕr-, cò-, în-, præ-, ante-, prod-eo: only in the perfect, and the tenses formed from it, they are usually contracted; thus, adeo, adii, seldom adivi, aditum, adire, to go to; perfect, adii, adiisti, or adisti, &c. adieram, adierim, &c. So likewise veneo, venii, to be sold, (compounded of venum and eo.) But ambio, -ivi, -itum, īre, to surround, is a regular verb of the fourth conjugation.

Eo, like other neuter verbs, is often rendered in English under a passive form; thus, it, he is going; ivit, he is gone; iverat, he was gone; iterit, he may be gone, or shall be gone. So věnit, he is coming; venit, he is come; venerat, he was come, &c. In the passive voice these verbs, for the most part, are only used impersonally; as, itur ab illo, he is going; ventum est ab illis, they are come. We find some of the compounds of eo, however, used personally; as, pericula adeuntur, are undergone, Cic. Libri Sibyllini inaditi sunt, were looked into, Liv. Flumen pedibus transiri potest, Cæs. Inimicitiæ subeantur, Cic.

QUEO, I can, and NEQUEO, I cannot, are conjugated the same way as co; only they want the imperative and the gerunds; and the participles are seldom used.

In like manner are conjugated the compounds of fĕro; as, affèro, attuli, allatum; aufero, abstuli, ablatum; diffèro, distuli, dilatum; confero, contuli, collatum; infero, intuli, illatum; offero, obtuli, oblatum; effèro, extuli, elatum. So circum-, per-, trans-, de-, pro-, ante-, præ-fero. In some writers we find, adfero, adtuli, adlatum; conlatum, inlatum; obfero, &c. for affero, &c.

OBS. 1. Most part of the above verbs are made irregular by contraction. Thus, nolo is contracted for non volo; malo for magis volo; fero, fers, fert, &c. for feris, ferit, &c. Feror, ferris, v. ferre, fertur, for ferĕris, &c.

OBS. 2. The imperatives of dico, duco, and făcio, are contracted in the same manner with fer: thus we say, dic, duc, fac, instead of dice, dūce, face. But these often occur likewise in the regular

The compounds of făcio which retain a, have also fio in the passive, and fac in the imperative active; as, calefacio, to warm, calefio, calefac: but those which change a into i, form the passive regularly, and have fice in the imperative; as, conficio, confice; conficior, confectus, confici. We find, however, confit, it is done, and confieri; defit, it is wanting; infit, he begins.

To irregular verbs may properly be subjoined what are commonly called Neuter Passive Verbs, which like fio, form the preterite tenses according to the passive voice, and the rest in the active. These are, soleo, solitus, solère, to use; audeo, ausus, audĕre, to dare; gaudeo, gavisus, gaudere, to rejoice; fido, fisus, fidère, to trust: So confido, to trust; and diffido, to distrust; which also have

confidi and diffidi. Some add mareo, mastus, mærere, to be sad; but mastus is generally reckoned an adjective. We likewise say jūratus sum and cœnatus sum, for juravi and cœnavi, but these may also be taken in a passive sense.

To these may be referred verbs, wholly active in their termination, and passive in their signification; as, vāpŭlo, -avi, -atum, to be beaten or whipped; vēneo, to be sold; exùlo, to be banished, &c.

DEFECTIVE VERBS.

Verbs are called Defective, which are not used in certain tenses, and numbers and persons.

These three, ōdi, cœpi, and měmìni, are only used in the preterite tenses; and therefore are called Preteritive Verbs; though they have sometimes likewise a present signfication; thus,

Odi, I hate, or have hated, oderam, oderim, odissem, odero, odisse. Participles, osus, osurus; exosus, perosus.

Capi, I begin, or have begun, cœperam, -erim, -issem, -ero, -isse. Supine, cœptu. Participles, cœptus, cœpturus.

Měmini, I remember, or have remembered, memineram, -erim, -issem, -ero, -isse. Imperative, memento, mementote.

Instead of odi, we sometimes say, osus sum; and always exosus, perosus sum, and not exodɩ, perodi. We say, opus cœpit fieri, or cœptum est.

To these some add novi, because it frequently has the signification of the present, I know, as well as, I have known, though it comes from nosco, which is complete.

Furo, to be mad, dor, to be given, and for, to speak, as also der, and fer, are not used in the first person singular; thus, we say, daris, datur; but never dor.

Of verbs which want many of their chief parts, the following most frequently occur: Aio, I say; inquam, I say; forem, I should be; ausim, contracted for ausus sim, I dare; faxim, I'll see to it, or I will do it; ave, and salve, save you, hail, good-morrow; cedo, tell thou, or give me; quæso, I pray.

Inf. avere.

salvere.

Note. Faxim and faro are used instead of fecerim and fecero. Imper. Ave vel avēto; plur. avete vel avetote.

Salve v. salvēto ; salvete v. salvetote.

Imperat. second person sing. Cedo, plur. cedite.

Indic. pres. first person sing. Quæso, plur. quæsumus.

Most of the other Defective verbs are but single words, and rarely to be found but among the poets; as, infit, he begins; defit, it is wanting. Some are compounded of a verb and the conjunction si; as, sis for si vis, if thou wilt: sultis for si vultis; sodes for si audes: equivalent to quæso, I pray; capsis for cap si vis.

IMPERSONAL VERBS.

A verb is called Impersonal, which has only the terminations of the third person singular, but does not admit any person or nominative before it.

Impersonal verbs in English, have before them the neuter pronoun it, which is not considered as a person; thus, delectat, it delights; decet, it becomes; contingit, it happens; evěnit, it happens:

Ind. Pr.

Im.

1st Conj. Delectat, Delectabat,

Per. Delectavit,

Plu. Delectaverat,
Fut. Delectabit.

Inf. Pr. Delectare,

Most Latin verbs may be used impersonally in the passive voice, especially Neuter and Intransitive verbs which otherwise have no passive; as, pugnātur, făvētur, curritur, věnītur; from pugno, to fight; faveo, to favour; curro, to run; venio, to

come:

Ind. Pr. Pugnatur,
Im. Pugnabatur,

Fut. Pugnabitur.

Favebitur.

Curretur.

Venietur.

Veniatur,

Veniretur,
Ventum sit,
Ventum esset,

Ventum fuerit.

OBS. 1. Impersonal verbs are scarcely used in the imperative, but instead of it we take the subjunctive; as, delectet, let it delight, &c. nor in the supines, participles, or gerunds, except a few; as, pænitens, -dum, -dus, &c. Induci ad pudendum et pigendum, Cic. In the preterite tenses of the passive voice, the participle perfect is always put in the neuter gender.

OBS. 2. Grammarians reckon only ten real impersonal verbs, and all in the second conjugation; decet, it becomes; pænitet, it repents; oportet, it behoves; miseret, it pities; piget, it irketh; pudet, it shameth; licet, it is lawful; libet or lubet, it pleaseth; tædet, it wearieth; liquet, it appears. Of which the following have a double preterite; miseret, miseruit, or misertum est; piget, piguit, or pigitum est; pudet, puduit, or puditum est; licet, licuit, or licitum est; libet, libuit, or libitum est; tædet, tæduit, tæsum est, oftener pærtæsum est. But many other verbs are used impersonally in all the conjugations.

In the first, Juvat, spectat, văcat, stat, constat, præstat, restat, &c.

In the second, Apparet, attinet, pertinet, débet, dõlet, nocet, lătet, liquet, pătet, plăcet, displicet, sĕdet, solet, &c.

In the third, Accidit, incipit, desinit, sufficit, &c.

In the fourth, Convěnit, expědit, &c.

Also irregular verbs, Est, obest, prōdest, põtest, intĕrest,supĕrest; sit, prætĕrit, nequit and nequitur, subit, confert, refert, &c.

OBS. 3. Under impersonal verbs may be comprehended those which express the operations or appearances of nature; as, Fulgurat, fulminat, tõnat, grandinat, gělat, pluit, ningit, lucescit, advesperascit, &c.

OBS. 4. Impersonal verbs are applied to any persou or number, by putting that which stands before other verbs, after the impersonals, in the cases which they govern; as, placet mihi, tibi, illi, it pleases me, thee, him; or I please, thou pleasest, &c. pugnatur a me, a te, ab illo, I fight, thou fightest, he fighteth, &c. So Curritur, venitur, a me, a te, &c. I run, thou runnest, &c. Favetur tibi a me, Thou art favoured by me, or I favour thee, &c.

OBS. 5. Verbs are used personally or impersonally, according to the particular meaning which they express, or the different import of the words with which they are joined: thus, we can say, ego placeo tibi, I please you; but we cannot say, si places audire, if you please to hear, but si placet tibi audire. So we can say, multa homini contingunt, many things happen to a man: bnt instead of ego contigi esse domi, we must either say, me contigit esse domi, or mihi contigit esse domi, I happened to be at home. The proper and elegant use of Impersonal verbs can only be acquired by practice.

REDUNDANT VERBS.

Those are called Redundant Verbs which have different forms to express the same sense: thus, assentio and assentior, to agree; fabrico and fabricor, to frame; mereo and mereor, to deserve, &c. These verbs, however, under the passive form have likewise a passive signification.

Several verbs are used in different conjugations.

1. Some are usually of the first conjugation, and rarely of the third; as, lavo, lavas, lavāre ; and lavo, lavis, lavěre, to wash.

2. Some are usually of the second, and rarely of the third; as,

Ferveo, ferves, and fervo, fervis, to boil.

Fulgeo, fulges, and fulgo, fulgis, to shine.

Strideo, strides, and strido, stridis, to make a hissing noise, to creak.
Tueor, tuēris, and tuor, tuĕris, to defend.