| The use | to use, | pronounced | uze. |
| The breath | to breathe | — | breadhe. |
| The cloth | to clothe | — | clodhe. |
CHAPTER XIX.
ON THE PERSONS.
[§ 283]. Compared with the Latin, the Greek, the Mœso-Gothic, and almost all the ancient languages, there is, in English, in respect to the persons of the verbs, but a very slight amount of inflection. This may be seen by comparing the English word call with the Latin voco.
| Sing. | Plur. | Sing. | Plur. | |
| 1. | Voc-o | Voc-amus. | Call | Call. |
| 2. | Voc-as | Voc-atis. | Call-est | Call. |
| 3. | Voc-at | Voc-ant. | Call-eth[[52]] | Call. |
Here the Latins have different forms for each different person, whilst the English have forms for two only; and even of these one (callest) is becoming obsolete. With the forms voc-o, voc-amus, voc-atis, voc-ant, there is, in the current English, nothing correspondent.
In the word am, as compared with are and art, we find a sign of the first person singular.
In the old forms tellen, weren, &c., we have a sign of the plural number.