112. A person may represent himself as doing something; or the person or persons he is speaking to; or any other person or persons.
a. In most languages each tense has a particular form to denote so far the subject or subjects of which the verb is predicated. Each of these forms is called a “person” of that tense.
b. The first person refers to the speaker himself (“I”); the second to the person spoken to (“thou”); the third to any other person or thing spoken of (“He”, “She”, “It”, “They”). Likewise, in the plural, the first person refers to the speaker himself and some others (“We”); the second to the persons spoken to, or the person spoken to and some others (“ye” or “you”); third to any other persons or things spoken of (“They”).
c. The persons might be more numerous: for instance, there might be separate forms for every possible number of persons; for every possible combination of so many men and so many women, and so on.
d. Some languages have three persons for the dual number, and others separate forms to be used when the subject is a female.
113. The English language has distinct forms for only two of the persons: the second and third singular.
114. All the persons of the plural, and in the preterite the third person singular also, are like the first person singular.
115. The second person singular is formed by adding -st, or -est, to the first person.
a. The -st is added when the first person ends in -e: the addition forms a new syllable.
b. When the verb ends in a single consonant after a short vowel, and has the accent on the last syllable, the final consonant is doubled before the ending -est (Examples: “defer” makes “deferrest”; “put” becomes “puttest”).
c. Preterites ending in -ed form the second person singular in -edst.
116. In English the second person plural is generally used instead of the second person singular. “You say” instead of “thou sayest”.
a. We find a similar peculiarity in other languages. It is felt, we must suppose, a point of courtesy not to make our approaches to one another so directly, as we do when we use the second person singular.
b. The Quakers, oddly enough, thought it to be a deviation from truth, to say “you” to a single person; they kept therefore to “thou” and “thee”.
c. In English the use of “thou” is confined to poetry, and to addresses to the Deity, to whom it would be natural to appropriate the form, when once it had become a peculiar one.
117. The third person singular of the present tense is formed by adding -s to the first person.
a. When the verb ends in -y impure, the -y is changed into -ie to make the plural (Examples: “fly” is made “flies” in the plural; but “delay” is made “delays”).
b. When the verb ends in a consonant or consonants after which -s could not be pronounced, -es is added, exactly as in forming the plural of nouns (Examples: “brush” is madde “brushes”; “hoax”, is made “hoaxes”; “fish” is made “fishes”; “hiss” beomes hisses).
c. Formerly, the third person singular ended in -th, as it now stands in the English Bible, and occasionally in poetry.
118. Examples of the personal forms:
a. to write
The First person, Singular number, Present tense form is: “I write.”
The Second person, Singular number, Present tense form is: “Thou writest.”
The Third person, Singular number, Present tense form is: “He writes.”
The First person, Plural number, Present tense form is: “We write.”
The Second person, Plural number, Present tense form is: “Ye write.”
The Third person, Plural number, Present tense form is: “They write.”
The First person, Singular number, Perfect tense form is: “I wrote.”
The Second person, Singular number, Perfect tense form is: “Thou wrotest.”
The Third person, Singular number, Present tense form is: “He wrote.”
The First person, Plural number, Present tense form is: “We wrote.”
The Second person, Plural number, Present tense form is: “Ye wrote.”
The Third person, Plural number, Present tense form is: “They wrote.”
b. to delay
The First person, Singular number, Present tense form is: “I delay.”
The Second person, Singular number, Present tense form is: “Thou delayest.”
The Third person, Singular number, Present tense form is: “He delays.”
The First person, Plural number, Present tense form is: “We delay.”
The Second person, Plural number, Present tense form is: “Ye delay.”
The Third person, Plural number, Present tense form is: “They delay.”
The First person, Singular number, Perfect tense form is: “I delayed.”
The Second person, Singular number, Perfect tense form is: “Thou delayedst.”
The Third person, Singular number, Present tense form is: “He delayed.”
The First person, Plural number, Present tense form is: “We delayed.”
The Second person, Plural number, Present tense form is: “Ye delayed.”
The Third person, Plural number, Present tense form is: “They delayed.”
c. to catch
The First person, Singular number, Present tense form is: “I catch.”
The Second person, Singular number, Present tense form is: “Thou catchest.”
The Third person, Singular number, Present tense form is: “He catches.”
The First person, Plural number, Present tense form is: “We catch.”
The Second person, Plural number, Present tense form is: “Ye catch.”
The Third person, Plural number, Present tense form is: “They catch.”
The First person, Singular number, Perfect tense form is: “I caught.”
The Second person, Singular number, Perfect tense form is: “Thou caughtest.”
The Third person, Singular number, Present tense form is: “He caught.”
The First person, Plural number, Present tense form is: “We caught.”
The Second person, Plural number, Present tense form is: “Ye caught.”
The Third person, Plural number, Present tense form is: “They caught.”
d. to take
The First person, Singular number, Present tense form is: “I take.”
The Second person, Singular number, Present tense form is: “Thou takest.”
The Third person, Singular number, Present tense form is: “He takes.”
The First person, Plural number, Present tense form is: “We take.”
The Second person, Plural number, Present tense form is: “Ye take.”
The Third person, Plural number, Present tense form is: “They take.”
The First person, Singular number, Perfect tense form is: “I took.”
The Second person, Singular number, Perfect tense form is: “Thou tookest.”
The Third person, Singular number, Present tense form is: “He took.”
The First person, Plural number, Present tense form is: “We took.”
The Second person, Plural number, Present tense form is: “Ye took.”
The Third person, Plural number, Present tense form is: “They took.”
e. to refer
The First person, Singular number, Present tense form is: “I refer.”
The Second person, Singular number, Present tense form is: “Thou referrest.”
The Third person, Singular number, Present tense form is: “He refers.”
The First person, Plural number, Present tense form is: “We refer.”
The Second person, Plural number, Present tense form is: “Ye refer.”
The Third person, Plural number, Present tense form is: “They refer.”
The First person, Singular number, Perfect tense form is: “I referred.”
The Second person, Singular number, Perfect tense form is: “Thou referredst.”
The Third person, Singular number, Present tense form is: “He referred.”
The First person, Plural number, Present tense form is: “We referred.”
The Second person, Plural number, Present tense form is: “Ye referred.”
The Third person, Plural number, Present tense form is: “They referred.”
