ns the
verb always takes the _first_ person rather than the _second_, and the
_second_ rather than the _third_; as,--
si tu et Tullia valetis, ego et Cicero valemus, _if you and Tullia are
well, Cicero and I are well_.
5. Agreement in Gender. With subjects of different genders the participle
in the compound tenses follows the same principles as laid down for
predicate adjectives. See Sec. 235, B, 2.
VOICES.
256. 1. The Passive Voice sometimes retains traces of its original middle
or reflexive meaning; as,--
ego non patiar eum defendi, _I shall not allow him to defend himself_.
2. In imitation of Greek usage many perfect passive participles are used by
the poets as indirect middles, i.e. the subject is viewed as acting not
upon itself, but as doing something _in his own interest_; as,--
velatus tempora, _having veiled his temples_.
a. Occasionally finite forms of the verb are thus used; as,--
tunica inducitur artus, _he covers his limbs with a tunic_.
3. Intransitive Verbs may be used impersonally in the passive; as,--
curritur, _people run_ (lit. _it is run_);
ventum est, _he_ (_they_, etc.) _came_ (lit. _it was come_).
TENSES.
TENSES OF THE INDICATIVE.
257. 1. The Latin tenses express two distinct notions:--
a) The _period of time_ to which the action belongs: Present, Past, or
Future.
b) The _kind of action_: Undefined, Going on, or Completed.
The Latin with its six tenses is able to express each of the three kinds of
action for each of the three periods of time (making practically nine
tenses). It does this by employing certain tenses in more than one way, as
may be seen by the following table:--
KIND OF PERIOD OF TIME.
ACTION.
PRESENT. PAST. FUTURE.
UNDEFINED Present: Historical Future:
scribo, _I write_. Perfect: scribam, _I shall
scripsi, _I write_.
wrote_.
GOING ON. Present: Imperfect: Future:
scribo, _I am scribebam, _I was scribam, _I shall
writing_. writing_. be writing_.
COMPLETED. Present Pluperfect: Future Perfect:
Perfect: scripseram, _I had scripsero, _I
scripsi, _I hav
|