do? What does the group of words _for hours_ do? The group _almost
motionless_ describes what things? The group _close beneath the mouths of
their burrows_, used like a single adverb, tells what? Find the two chief
words in 2. _This_ helps out the meaning of _says_, but it is not an
adverb. _This_ is here a pronoun standing for the thing said. What whole
sentence does _this_ take the place of? Find the subject and the predicate
verb in 3. What noun follows this verb to tell what Mr. Darwin noticed?
What does _occasionally_ do? What does _same_ go with? What group of eight
words tells in what way Mr. Darwin noticed this fact? Find the unmodified
subject and predicate in 4. What does the second _their_ go with? What does
_by looking down into their burrows_ tell? What does _just_ do? In 5, put
_what_ before _may be removed_, and find two words either of which may be
used as subject. What is the office of _the_, _ejected_, and the group
_over the burrows_? What does _suddenly_ do? Find the subject and the
predicate verb in 6. _Retreating_ helps out the meaning of the predicate
and at the same time modifies the subject. Notice that _the end rapidly
retreating_ is not a sentence, nor is _worms kept in pots_, in 3.
_Retreating_ and _kept_ here express action, but they are not predicates;
they do not assert. You learned in Lesson 16 that certain forms of the verb
do not assert. _Of the worm's body_ modifies what? _Then_ and _very often_
do what?
If you will compare these numbered sentences with Mr. Darwin's, you will
see how two or more sentences are put together to make one longer sentence.
You see Mr. Darwin puts our sentence 1 after _says_ to tell what Morren
says. What word here helps to bring two sentences together? Change this
sentence about so as to make _says Morren_ come last. See how many other
changes you can make in the arrangement of the words and groups of words in
this sentence. What two words are used to join 3 and 4 together? Notice
that these sentences are not joined so closely as 1 and 2, as is shown by
the semi-colon. Notice that _if_ has much to do in joining 5 and 6. These
are more closely joined than 3 and 4, but not so closely as 1 and 2. How is
this shown by the punctuation? Put 5 and 6 together and change their order.
Find, if you can, still another arrangement.
+To the Teacher+.--It is very important that pupils should learn to see
words in groups and to note their offices. If difficulties and
technicalities be avoided, such exercises as we suggest above may be begun
very early. They will lead to an intelligent observation of language and
will prepare the way for the more formal lessons of the text-book.
If time can be had, such exercises may profitably be continued through the
second and third paragraphs of the selection above.
We have said elsewhere that the sentence exercises on this selection from
Darwin may follow Lesson 30, but the teacher must determine.
+The Paragraph+.--If we write about only one thing, or one point, our
sentences will be closely related to each other. If we write on two or more
points, there will be two or more sets of sentences--the sentences of each
set closely related to one another, but the sets themselves not so closely
related. A group of sentences expressing what we have to say on a single
point, or division, of our subject is called a +paragraph+. How many
paragraphs do you find in the selection above? How are they separated on
the page?
Let us examine this selection more carefully to find whether the sentences
of each group are all on a single point and closely related, and whether
the groups themselves are related. Do the sentences of the first paragraph
all help to tell of a certain habit of angleworms? Do the sentences of the
second paragraph tell what results from this habit? Do the sentences of the
third paragraph tell what is thought to be the cause of this habit? If you
can say yes to these questions, the sentences in each paragraph must be
closely related. Are a habit, a result of it, and a cause of it related in
thought, or meaning? If so, the paragraphs are related.
You must now see that paragraphing helps both the reader and the writer,
and that we should master it.
+The Style+.--We shall not here say much about what we may call the style
of the author--his way of putting his thought, or manner of expressing it.
But this you will notice: his words are few, plain, and simple; the
arrangement of them is easy; and so what is said is said clearly. You are
nowhere in doubt about his meaning unless it be in the second paragraph. It
may puzzle you to see what _their_, _they_, and _they_ in the second
sentence of this paragraph stand for. Let _an astonishing number of worms_
and _out of their holes_ change places, and substitute _birds_ and _worms_
for _they_ and _they_, and see whether the meaning would be clearer.
Clearness is worth all it costs. You cannot take too much pains to be
understood.
+First-hand Knowledge+.--As you know, we get our knowledge in two ways. We
get it by seeing and by thinking about what we see; and we get it by
listening to other people and reading what they have written. What we get
by seeing, by observation, is first-hand knowledge; what we get from others
is second-hand knowledge. Both kinds are useful; we cannot have too much of
either. But the kind that it does us most good to get and is worth most to
us when got is first-hand knowledge. This especially is the kind which you
should make your compositions of. In the first two paragraphs of the
selection above, Darwin is telling what he saw, and in the third he is
explaining what he saw. That is why what he says is so fresh and
interesting.
And just one thing more. If such a man as Charles Darwin thought it worth
his while to spend much time in studying and experimenting upon angleworms
and then to write a large book about them, surely you need not think
anything in nature beneath your notice.
ORIGINAL COMPOSITION.
Tell in two or three short paragraphs what you have observed of some worm,
insect, or other creature, and what you think about it.
+To the Teacher+.--We suggest that what is said above be read by the pupils
and discussed in the class, and that the substance of it be reproduced in
the pupils' own language. Such reproduction will serve as a lesson in oral
composition.
It may be profitable for the pupils to reproduce the selection from Darwin.
+Exercises on the Composition of the Sentence and the Paragraph+.
SELECTION FROM HABBERTON--"HELEN'S BABIES."
The whistles completed, I was marched with music to the place where the
"Jacks" grew. It was just such a place as boys delight in--low, damp, and
boggy, with a brook hidden away under overhanging ferns and grasses.
1. The children knew by sight the plant that bore the "Jacks," and every
discovery was announced by a piercing shriek of delight. 2. At first I
looked hurriedly toward the brook as each yell clove the air; but, as I
became accustomed to it, my attention was diverted by some exquisite ferns.
3. Suddenly, however, a succession of shrieks announced that something was
wrong, and across a large fern I saw a small face in a great deal of agony.
4. Budge was hurrying to the relief of his brother, and was soon as deeply
imbedded as Toddie was in the rich, black mud at the bottom of the brook.
5. I dashed to the rescue, stood astride the brook, and offered a hand to
each boy, when a treacherous tuft of grass gave way, and, with a glorious
splash, I went in myself.
This accident turned Toddie's sorrow to laughter, but I can't say I made
light of my misfortune on that account. To fall into _clear_ water is not
pleasant, even when one is trout-fishing; but to be clad in white trousers
and suddenly drop nearly knee-deep into the lap of mother earth is quite a
different thing.
I hastily picked up the children and threw them upon the bank, and then
strode out, and tried to shake myself, as I have seen a Newfoundland dog
do. The shake was not a success--it caused my trouser's legs to flap
dismally about my ankles, and sent the streams of treacherous ooze
trickling down into my shoes. My hat, of drab felt, had fallen off by the
brookside, and been plentifully spattered as I got out.
+The Uses of Words and Groups of Words+.--We will put the first paragraph
above into single sentences.
1. The whistles completed, we were marched with music to the place. 2. The
"Jacks" grew in this place. 3. It was a place low, damp, and boggy, with a
brook hidden away under overhanging ferns and grasses. 4. Boys delight in
such a place.
Find the subject noun (or pronoun) and the predicate verb in each of the
four sentences above. Does _the whistles completed_ make complete sense?
You learned in Lesson 16 that some forms of the verb do not assert--cannot
be predicates. Does _brook hidden_, in 3, contain a predicate? What can you
say of _hidden?_ Find a noun in 3 used to complete the predicate and make
the meaning of the subject plainer. What group of adjectives modifies
_place_? Tell why these three adjectives are separated by commas. What long
phrase describes _place_?
Find the first verb in the second paragraph of the selection. What is the
object complement of this verb? _That bore the "Jacks"_ does what? The
pronoun _that_ stands for _plant_. _The plant bore the "Jacks,"_ standing
by itself, is a complete sentence; but by using _that_ for _plant_ the
whole expression is made to do the work of an adjective. What conjunction
joins on another expression that by itself would make a complete sentence?
What are the subject and the predicate of this added sentence? _By a
piercing shriek of delight_ does what? Of what use are the phrases _at
first_ and _toward the brook_ in sentence 2? What group of words is joined
to _looked_ to tell on what occasion or how often? Find in this group a
subject, a predicate, and an object complement. What connects this group to
_looked_? What two sentences does _but_ here bring together? Does the
semicolon show that this connection is close? Point out what you think to
be the leading subject and the leading verb after _but_. _By some exquisite
ferns_ is joined to what? What group of words goes with _was diverted_ to
tell when? Find in this group a subject, a predicate, and an attribute
complement. Point out in the first part of 3 the leading subject and its
verb. What does _suddenly_ go with? What does _of shrieks_ modify?
_However_ is loosely thrown in to carry the attention back to what goes
before. Notice the commas. Answer the question made by putting _what_ after
_announced_. In this group of words used as object complement can you find
a subject, a predicate, and a complement? What two sentences does _and_
here bring together? Point out the subject, the predicate, and the
complement in the second of these. _Across a large fern_ is joined like an
adverb to what? _In a great deal of agony_ modifies what? Find a compound
predicate in 4. What phrase is joined to _was imbedded_ to tell where? The
group of words _as deeply as Toddie was (imbedded)_ is joined to what? Find
in 5 a compound predicate made up of three verbs, one of which has an
object complement.
+To the Teacher+.--See suggestions with the preceding selection. If our
exercises on the second paragraph above are found too hard, the compound
and complex sentences may be broken up into single statements.
We have indicated elsewhere that this sentence work may follow Lesson 40.
+The Narrative+.--This selection from "Helen's Babies" is a story and
therefore a narrative. But there are some descriptive touches in it. All
stories must have such touches. Perhaps it is not always essential to
distinguish between narration and description, but it is worth your while
to do it occasionally. Try to point out the descriptive parts in these
paragraphs. You certainly can find a descriptive sentence in the first
paragraph, and descriptive words, phrases, and clauses throughout the
selection. What help to the narrative do these descriptive touches give?
+The Paragraphs+.--What have you learned about the sentences that make up
one paragraph? Are the paragraphs more, or less, closely related than the
sentences of each paragraph? Why? Examine these paragraphs and see whether
any sentences can be changed from one paragraph to another. If you think
they can, give your reason. Is the order of these paragraphs the right one?
Can the order anywhere be changed without throwing the story out of joint?
Why?
+The General Topic and the Sub-topics+.--We shall find that every
composition has its general subject and that each paragraph in the
composition bus its own particular subject. Let us call the subject of the
whole composition the _general topic_. _Sub_ means _under_, and so let us
call the point which each paragraph develops a _sub-topic_. In the story
above we may find some such outline as the following:--
AN EXCURSION IN SEARCH OF "JACKS."
1. The Place where Jacks Grow.
2. The Mishap to the Excursionists.
3. The Uncle Takes his Seriously.
4. His Attempt at Repairs.
Do you think that such a _framework_ helps a writer to tell his story? Do
you not think that each sub-topic must suggest some thoughts that the
general topic alone would not suggest? If you keep clearly before you the
sub-topic of your paragraph, what effect do you think it will have on the
thoughts and the sentences of that paragraph? With a good framework clearly
before you, must not your story move along in an orderly way from a
beginning to an end? Have you ever heard stories badly told? If so, what
were the faults?
ORIGINAL COMPOSITION.
Have you not had some experience that you can work up into a good story? If
you have, tell the story upon paper, making use of the instruction we have
given you in our talk above.
+To the Teacher+.--Perhaps a reproduction of the story above may be
profitable.
EXERCISES ON THE COMPOSITION OF THE SENTENCE AND THE PARAGRAPH.
SELECTION FROM GEORGE ELIOT.
And this is Dovecote Mill. I must stand a minute or two here on the bridge
and look at it, though the clouds are threatening and it is far on in the
afternoon. Even in this leafless time of departing February, it is pleasant
to look at it. Perhaps the chill, damp season adds a charm to the
trimly-kept building, as old as the elms and chestnuts that shelter it from
the northern blast.
The stream is brimful now, and half drowns the grassy fringe in front of
the house. As I look at the stream, the vivid grass, the delicate, bright
green softening the outline of the great trunks and branches that gleam
from under the bare purple boughs, I am in love with moistness, and envy
the white ducks that are dipping their heads far into the water, unmindful
of the awkward appearance in the drier world above.
1. And now there is the huge covered wagon, coming home with sacks of
grain. 2. That honest wagoner is thinking of his dinner, which is getting
sadly dry in the oven at this late hour; but he will not touch it till he
has fed his horses--the strong, submissive beasts, who, I fancy, are
looking mild reproach at him from between their blinkers, that he should
crack his whip at them in that awful manner, as if they needed such a hint!
3. See how they stretch their shoulders up the slope toward the bridge,
with all the more energy because they are so near home. 4. Look at their
grand, shaggy feet, that seem to grasp the firm earth, at the patient
strength of their necks bowed under the heavy collar, at the mighty muscles
of their struggling haunches. 5. I should like to see them, with their
moist necks freed from the harness, dipping their eager nostrils into the
pond.
+The Uses of Words and Groups of Words+.--Notice that in sentence 1, third
paragraph, the subject is placed after the predicate. Tell what _now_ and
_there_ do. _Coming home with sacks of grain_ does what? Does _coming_
express action? Does it assert action? What is it? What does _home_ do? Put
_its_ before _home_ and then read the whole phrase. What other change do
you find necessary? A noun is sometimes used alone to do the work of an
adverb phrase, the preposition being omitted. What is the office of
_minute_ in the second sentence of the first paragraph? What preposition
could be put in? In 2, third paragraph, the pronoun _which_ stands for
_dinner_. Read the sentence, using the noun instead of the pronoun. Have
you now two sentences, or one? You see that _which_ not only stands for
_dinner_, but it joins on a sentence so as to make it describe the dinner.
What does _till he has fed his horses_ do? Omitting _till_, would this
group of words be a sentence? What, then, joins this group, and makes it do
the work of an adverb? Notice the dash after _horses_. The writer here
breaks off rather suddenly and begins again, using _beasts_ instead of
_horses_. To _beasts_ are added many descriptive words. You will learn that
this noun _beasts_ added to the noun _horses_ is called an explanatory
modifier. Notice that _I fancy_ is thrown in loosely or independently and
is set off by commas. All the other words beginning with _who_ and ending
with _hint_ are joined by _who_ to _beasts_. Notice that the writer makes
these beasts think like persons, and so uses _who_ instead of _which_ or
_that_. Do we ordinarily speak of looking anything? In _who are looking
reproach_, what is the object complement of _are looking_? What long group
of words made up of two sentences tells why the beasts are looking
reproach? Read separately the main divisions of 2. What conjunction
connects these? Is one of these divisions itself divided into parts by
commas? Should, then, some mark of wider separation be put between the main
divisions of 2? To build so long a sentence as 2 is venturesome. We advise
young writers not to make such attempts. It is hard to write very long
sentences and keep the meaning clear. In 3 the subject of _see_ is _you_,
which is generally omitted in a command. You are here told to see what?
Break this long object complement up into two sentences. What do the horses
stretch? Where do they stretch their shoulders? How do they stretch? Why do
they stretch with more energy? What is the subject of _look_ in 4? The
phrase beginning with _at_ and ending with _earth_ does what? Find two
other long phrases introduced by _at_ and tell what they do. _That seem to
grasp the firm earth_ goes with what? Put the noun _feet_ in place of the
pronoun _that_ and make a separate sentence of this group. What word, then,
makes an adjective modifier of this sentence and joins it to _feet_? Does
_to grasp_ assert action? What do you call it? It is here used as attribute
complement. _Bowed under the heavy collar_ describes what? Does _bowed_
assert action? What do you call it?
+To the Teacher+.--If time permits, we believe that such exercises as the
above may profitably be continued. This sentence work may perhaps best
follow Lesson 50. See suggestions with preceding exercises.
+Descriptive Writing+.--This extract from the novelist who called herself
"George Eliot" we have slightly changed for our purpose. It is purely
+descriptive+. It is a painting in words--a vivid picture of a very pretty
scene. How grateful we are to those who can, as it were, turn a page of a
book into canvas, and paint on it a rich verbal picture that delights us
every time we read it or recall it! How many such pictures there are in our
libraries! And how little they cost us when compared with those that we buy
and hang upon our walls!
+Some Features of a Good Description+.--Does this author mention many
features of the mill, of the stream, and of the horses pulling their load
over the bridge? Do those that she does mention suggest to you everything
else? Name some of the things suggested to you but not mentioned in this
description. Does not some of the charm of a description lie in the
reader's having something left him to supply? If the author had given you
every little detail of the mill, the stream, and the laboring horses, would
not the description have been dull and tiresome? What things that the
author imagined but did not really see are mentioned in the third
paragraph? Do these touches of fancy or imagination help the picture? Do
they show that the author was in love with her work? and do they therefore
stimulate your fancy or imagination?
+The Framework+.--In making a framework for this description would you take
for the general topic "The Scene from the Bridge" or "Things Seen from a
Bridge"? or would you prefer some other wording of it? Now write out a
framework, placing the sub-topics under the general topic as you have been
taught.
ORIGINAL COMPOSITION.
Describe some scene that you greatly enjoy, or draw your picture from
imagination. Make a framework and try to profit by all that we have said.
EXERCISES ON THE COMPOSITION OF THE SENTENCE AND THE PARAGRAPH.
SELECTION FROM THE BROTHERS GRIMM.
Once upon a time there was a very old man, whose eyes were dim, whose ears
were dull, and whose knees trembled. When he sat at table, he could
scarcely hold his spoon; and often he spilled his food over the tablecloth
and sometimes down his clothes.
His son and daughter-in-law were much vexed about this, and at last they
made the old man sit behind the oven in a corner, and gave him his food in
an earthen dish, and not enough of it either; so that the poor man grew
sad, and his eyes were wet with tears. Once his hand trembled so much that
he could not hold the dish, and it fell upon the ground and broke all in
pieces, so that the young wife scolded him; but he made no reply and only
sighed. Then they brought him a wooden dish, and out of that he had to
feed.
One day, as he was sitting in his usual place, he saw his little grandson,
four years old, fitting together some pieces of wood. "What are you
making?" asked the old man.
"I am making a wooden trough," replied the child, "for father and mother to
feed out of when I grow big."
At these words the father looked at his wife for a moment, and presently
they began to cry. Henceforth they let the old grandfather sit at the table
with them, and they did not even say anything if he spilled a little food
upon the cloth.
+The Uses of Words and Groups of Words+.--What is the order of subject and
predicate in the first sentence of this selection? The word _there_ does
not tell where; it is put before _was_ to let the subject follow. _There_
is frequently so used and is then called an independent adverb. Find in the
first sentence three adjective clauses. What connects each to _man_? What
other office has this connective? How are these adjective clauses connected
with one another? What is the office of the dependent clause in the next
sentence? If this clause were placed after its principal clause, would the
comma be needed? Are the clauses separated by the semicolon as closely
connected as those divided by the comma?
After _made_ and some other words the _to_ before the infinitive is
omitted. Find such an instance in the first sentence of the second
paragraph. In this same sentence change _gave him his food_, making _him_
come last. You have learned that a noun or a pronoun may be used without a
preposition to do the work of an adverb phrase. What does _one day_ do in
the third paragraph? Is a preposition needed before _day?_ In the same
sentence _years_ is used adverbially to modify the adjective _old_. It
would be hard to find a preposition to put before _years_. We might say
"old to the extent of four years," but _four years_ answers for the whole
phrase. In this same paragraph what words are quoted exactly as the old man
uttered them? Describe the quotation marks. Notice that the next quotation
is broken by the words _replied the child_, and so each part of the
quotation is separately inclosed within quotation marks.
+To the Teacher+.--We have here touched a few features of the sentences
above. The exercises given with the preceding selections will suggest a
fuller examination of the phrases and clauses.
+Suggestions from this Narrative+.--We see that this beautiful story has a
purpose. Its purpose is to teach us kindness to our parents. It is well
planned. Every sentence and every paragraph is adapted to the end in view.
No useless item or circumstance is admitted. The story stops when the end
is reached. Anything added to the fifth paragraph would spoil the story. We
certainly can learn much from such a model.
+Paragraphs+.--Does every sentence in the first paragraph aid in picturing
the helplessness of the old grandfather? Is the picture complete? Does the
second paragraph strongly impress us with the unkindness of the son and
daughter-in-law, who ought to have been moved to pity by the old man's
condition? Does it contain an unnecessary sentence? In telling how the
grandchild unconsciously taught a lesson, a dialogue is introduced, and so
what really belongs to one sub-topic is put in the form of two paragraphs.
It is customary to make a separate paragraph of each single speech in a
dialogue. Read the last paragraph carefully and see whether one could wish
to know anything more about the effect of the lesson taught by the child.
Make a framework for this story.
ORIGINAL COMPOSITION.
Make up a short story from your own experience, or from your imagination,
and try to profit by the suggestions above. Prepare a framework at the
beginning.
+Exercises on the Composition of the Sentence and the Paragraph+.
SELECTION FROM BEECHER.