The Verb will.

In the First Person will expresses resolution; in the Second and Third Persons (unless emphasized) it denotes simple futurity only, e.g.

I will go to London = I am resolved to go.

He will-go to London = His visit will-take-place.

Will is also used to express, through persistence, the frequent repetition of an action, and has the sense of 'to be accustomed,' e.g.―

Sometimes a thousand twanging instruments

Will hum about my ears.'-Shakespeare.

'Muttering his wayward fancies he would rove.'—Gray's Elegy. 'His listless length at noontide would he stretch.'— Gray's Elegy. Will is sometimes used with the Second Person (like the Greek Optative with av) to signify an Imperative. It is somewhat like our 'You will be kind enough to be quiet.'

'Gloucester, thou wilt answer for this before the pope.'

-Abbott's Shakespearian Grammar. Will had a negative nill (cf. Latin volo and nolo) and nelt =ne wilt.

Other similar negatives were nam = I am not, nis = it is not, as it was not, and not = ne wat = I knew not.

The Verb shall.

Shall, in the Indicative Present First Person, is simply a Tense Auxiliary. In the Second and Third Persons, it denotes the resolution of the speaker, or obligation attaching to the person addressed.

I shall go (a mere statement of what will take place).
You shall go, he shall go (= I am determined that you
or he shall go).

Shall and will.

The distinction between these words is thus expressed in rhyme:

'In the First Person, simply shall foretells;

In will a threat or else a promise dwells;

Shall in the Second and the Third does threat;
Will simply then foretells the Future feat.'

Y

Most persons will recollect the old story of the Frenchman who fell over board, and was left to perish because the bystanders thought the man was bent on suicide, this impression being caused by his exclaiming, "I will be drowned and nobody shall help me.'

It is noteworthy that people under the influence of Celtic languages cannot appreciate the subtler distinctions between will and shall. Even Sir Walter Scott is a signal example of this fact.

Shall is an instance of the avoidance of the early initial se (sceal I shall).

Other instances are shaft (scaft), sharp (scarpe), ship (scip), shame (scame).

The in shall is not inserted as in 'could,' but is organic. Should, in Old English and in modern provincialisms, ex presses representation more than fact, e.g.—

'I heard that the Lord Coke should say to his majesty' (1608).
'You asserted that I should say,' etc.—Macclesfield (1888).

The Verb may.

May formerly denoted the possession of strength or power to do anything:

'I myghte (=was able) not drowne hem for dole.'-Chevalier Assigne. 'He was of grete elde, and might (=could) not travaile.'-R. Brunne. The Substantive might still denotes power and ability, as does also the Adjective mighty.

It now indicates only the absence of any physical or moral impediment to an action, as

It may be so.

He might be seen searching for specimens.

In Optative sentences, may expresses a desire, as—
May you be happy.

The Verb may is now often employed as a mere Auxiliary (followed by an Infinitive Mood) to replace the simple Subjunct ive after that and lest, in sentences like the following:

That we show forth thy praise.

Give me this water lest I die.

The same sentences would probably now be written, 'That we may show' and 'That I may not die.'

Just as 'know' has dethroned 'can,' just as 'can' has dethroned 'may,' so has 'may' usurped the office of 'mote':

'Sir Frere, evil mot (= may) thou the' (1522).

'Ever more blessyd mote (=may) thowe be.'-Flodden Field (1573). 'So mote it be.'-Freemasons' Formula.

The Verb must (Present and Past Tense).

Must has acquired a stronger force than it possessed originally.

Must in Shakespeare sometimes indicates only definite futurity, as

'He must (will) fight singly to-morrow with Hector.'

-Troilus and Cressida, Act iii. Sc. 3.

Such phrases as 'He is so greatly enamoured that he must risk his life for her,' show the gradation between futurity, determination, and compulsion.

It now expresses :

(a) Compulsion, as

He must obey his master.

(4) Determination, as—

He must always have his own way.

(c) Certainty, as

He must have arrived by this time.

When past time is referred to, must is usually followed (like ought) by the Perfect Infinitive, as—

It must have been a sad day when the old man died. What is unmistakeably the Past Tense is, however, sometimes found with the Present Infinitive, as—

Can.

'He must (Past Tense) needs go through Samaria.'— John iv. 4.

The Verb once meant, 'I know.'

'I can write' is therefore equivalent to, 'I know writing.' Compare the saying of Bacon: Knowledge is power.'

Verbs like can, wish, etc., that almost invariably take a following Infinitive, e.g. I desire to do right,' are sometimes called Prolative.

Ought (now a Past Tense).

In direct sentences the reference to past time is indicated by using a Perfect Infinitive after it, as—

He ought to have done it.

Note.-This is just the converse of the Latin facere debuit.

Ought is now used as a Past Tense only in the reported form, as

He said I ought to be satisfied.

Ought may be reckoned as one of the displaced Preterites (ie. Past Tenses promoted to do the duty of a Present), since it has lost its old meaning of 'I owed,' and now means 'I am under an obligation.' It has not, however, acquired a second weak Preterite of its own, nor has it formed a Present Infinitive and Participle. The want of these last is often very inconvenient. We cannot say 'He was known to ought' for 'He was known to be bound in duty,' and the original Present owe will not express that meaning.

A curious example of the two senses of the Verb in close contact may be found in King John (Act ii. Sc. 1):

'Be pleased then To pay that duty which you truly owe

To him who owes it.'

Compare the two meanings of 'to oblige,' e.g.—

Wit.

I will oblige him to oblige me.

The Gerundial Infinitive to wit is still common in legal documents. The old expression

I do you to wit=I cause you to know.

The Verb dare.

Dare (Lat. audeo) is used without to, the usual sign of the

Infinitive, as 'I dare do this.' But to is sometimes put after it in Shakespeare, as—

'I durst, my lord, to wager she is honest.'-Othello, Act iv. Sc. 2.

It must be borne in mind that durst is a Past Tense. It is sometimes, though incorrectly, used as a Present, eg. 'Do this;' 'I durst not.

(After dare to challenge, the Infinitive has to, e.g. 'I dare you to touch me.')

ANSWERED QUESTIONS.

1. Q. Of what class of Verbs is 4. Q. Only Transitive Verbs can Ben Jonson speaking when he calls it 'the common inn (in which) to lodge every stranger and foreign guest'?