L. THE INDICATIVE MODE
190. Each of the six verb forms that we have been studying,—I eat, I ate, I shall eat, I have eaten, I had eaten, I shall have eaten,—is used in the statement of a fact, and is said to be in the indicative mode.
Mode is that property of a verb which denotes the manner of an assertion.
The indicative mode is used in the statement of a fact.
191. In some tenses there is a slight difference between the singular and the plural form of a verb, hence verbs are said to have the property of number. We should always use the verb form that agrees with the number of the subject. In the present tense, for example, we say in the singular, “The man goes;” and in the plural, “The men go.”
192. In some tenses there is a slight difference in the form of the verb to denote person, hence verbs are said to have the property of person. In the present perfect tense, we say in the first person, “I have gone;” and in the third person, “He has gone.”
193. When we give all the forms of a verb in the three persons and the two numbers of each tense, we are said to conjugate the verb.
194. Conjugation of the verb be in the indicative mode:—
| Present Tense | Past Tense | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural |
| I am | we are | I was | we were |
| thou art | you are | thou wast | you were |
| he is | they are | he was | they were |
| Future Tense | Present Perfect Tense | ||
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural |
| I shall be | we shall be | I have been | we have been |
| thou wilt be | you will be | thou hast been | you have been |
| he will be | they will be | he has been | they have been |
| Past Perfect Tense | |
|---|---|
| Singular | Plural |
| I had been | we had been |
| thou hadst been | you had been |
| he had been | they had been |
| Future Perfect Tense | |
| Singular | Plural |
| I shall have been | we shall have been |
| thou wilt have been | you will have been |
| he will have been | they will have been |
195. Conjugation of see in the indicative mode:—
| Present Tense | Past Tense | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural |
| I see | we see | I saw | we saw |
| thou seest | you see | thou sawest | you saw |
| he sees | they see | he saw | they saw |
| Future Tense | Present Perfect Tense | ||
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural |
| I shall see | we shall see | I have seen | we have seen |
| thou wilt see | you will see | thou hast seen | you have seen |
| he will see | they will see | he has seen | they have seen |
| Past Perfect Tense | |
|---|---|
| Singular | Plural |
| I had seen | we had seen |
| thou hadst seen | you had seen |
| he had seen | they had seen |
| Future Perfect Tense | |
| Singular | Plural |
| I shall have seen | we shall have seen |
| thou wilt have seen | you will have seen |
| he will have seen | they will have seen |
Exercise.—Conjugate the verbs in Exercise 2, p. 126, in the six tenses of the Indicative Mode.