Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1858-03-13
Communicated.
n n. EDIToR:


Mr.. EDIToR:
The Secretary OF onr County
Teachers Institute in several communications
Published in the american" since our last
meeting. endeavdrs to charge me with having
made an "egregious error" us he is pleased 10
call it, when asserted that "was struck" is
traLstlye verb. Ue seems to think the ger.
ror" was too great TO be noticed 10 the min
utes Of the Association, but takes care 10
publish it in an article that |, probably, would
have never noticed, had not some OF my
friends here called my attention to it.
When the charge was FIRST brought to my
notice was urged to reply to it, but declin.
ed doing so for reasons satisfactory to my
self. But Or. John thought IL sdouid be an.
swered, aud accordingly done so himself
Ia the Secretary's reply to the DR. he re-
peats the charge, and tries to create the inl-
preston that was defeated in the effort to
! maintain my position before the Institute
Now dou't know what the opinions OF a ma
! iority Of the members present were but | do
! know that the same theory" is presented and
maintained by nine.tenths of all the res peeta-
bic Gratauatical Authors extant; and that
common sense Invariably induces every
school boy 20 take the same view.
The ground taken by me was simply this
That all transitiye verbs have two forms Of
expressing the idea, ard that these two forms
are generally called the active and passive vol
ces Of the same verb. And the sentences
! John struck " William" and William was
! struck by john were merely Introduced for IL.
! lustration. do not suppose any competent
philclogist can be found who will not udnit
/ that these two expressions mean the same
| thing.
further held that the "object" William,
| in the first sentence, became the "subject" in
the second and consequently "nominative
case" nevertheless still the recipient Of the
action indicated by the verb, and hence. from
necessity, must remain the true "object"
\ transitiye verb is u verb whose action al
feet al object and the Secretary (it his men,
tai eyes are sufficiently powerful to see through
the hair may, perhaps, be able to discover
that William" is in both forms affected
alike by the action expressed ty the verb
Ny school boys have no trouble, whatever in
comprehending the matter.
MIR. W. II. Wells, at present School Su'
perintendent of the City OF Chicago says in
bis Grammer page So, "traustive verbs have
two forms, called the active and the passive
voice" And "the active voice represents
the subject or nominatiye rs acting upon some
object" "The passive voice represents the
nominatiye us being acted upon. The nomi
native in the passive voice is itself the object
Of the verb"
Samuel S. Greene, in his Analysis OF the
English Language" page 223, says voice il
applied to the two forms OF the transitiv'
verb, aud is either active or passive. The
active voice represent the subject us acting
as - ohm struck w lliam." The passive voc,
represents the subject as being acted npon al
"Wilian was struck by John" The SAINT
sentences being given by him that used a
the Institute.
Again, Mr.. Mulligan of New York city, il
his Grammatical Structure OF the EnglIsl
Language" page SO, section Al, says, "th
PASSIVE voice or passive form is confined L
that class Of verbs which We have nance
transitive verbs" Aud on page 80, in an ex
plauatory note OF some length on this sub
jecl, he uses still stronger language aud says
J .all transitive verbs, aud none but transitiv
verbs, are susceptible OF a passive use an
passive FORM"
I DIR. Bullious, Goold Brown, Joseph Il
Chandler, John S. Hart and the great major
( ity of popular aud scientific writer's on Gran
meI say in effect. the same thing.
, When advanced the "theory" that wa
struck" is transitive verb, had no douo
, that every individual present was sufhcienti
we'll acquainted with the scientific analysis G
our language TO comprehend the truth an'
correctness OF the assertion; and have D
doubt now the great majority OF the leach
, lsrs In attendance, vten they came 10 Tsase'