parts, and telling the relation between those parts. In analyzing the
sentences in the following exercise proceed according to this outline:—
(1) Tell whether the sentence is declarative or interrogative.
(2) Divide it into subject and predicate.
(3) Select the simple subject and give its modifiers.
(4) Select the simple predicate and give its modifiers.
(5) If a predicate is compound, select the two or more predicate verbs,
and then give the modifiers of each.
Tell the exact truth in good, clear English. For example, in analyzing
the expression, _the four little rabbits_, do not say that _the_, _four_,
and _little_ are adjectives modifying _rabbits_, but say that _rabbits_
is modified by the adjectives _little_, _four_, and _the_. Why should
they be given in this order?
=Exercise.=—Analyze sentences 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, and 14 in the
exercise on p. 33.
XII. PREPOSITIONS
=39.= In the preceding lesson we considered a phrase as a unit. We shall
now examine its structure, and see what parts it is composed of. If we
look carefully at these phrases,—
with their mother
to a wide forest
over the sinewy neck
like silver trumpets
we see that the first word is not a noun, a pronoun, a verb, an
adjective, or an adverb. If we try to put this word anywhere else in the
phrase, we see that it must come at the beginning; in short, that it is
the introductory word of the phrase. If we had only this introductory
word given, the word _with_, for instance, we should ask at once _with
what?_ or _with whom?_ The answer to this second question is _their
mother_, the rest of the phrase.
If we examine the other three phrases in the same way, we shall come
to the conclusion that a phrase is made up of two parts: (1) an
introductory word, (2) an answer to the question made by putting _whom_
or _what_ after the introductory word. We call the introductory word a
=preposition=, and we say that the rest of the phrase is the =object of
the preposition=. A preposition is a part of speech.
A phrase that consists of a preposition and its object is called a
=prepositional phrase=. Not all phrases are of this kind. We shall study
the other kinds later.
=40.= There are not a great many prepositions in the English language,
hardly more than a hundred in all. Most of them are short words, and of
very great usefulness. Some of the commonest are: _across_, _after_,
_before_, _between_, _by_, _for_, _from_, _in_, _over_, _to_, _through_,
_toward_, _under_, _with_, _without_.
=41.= The object of a preposition may be a single word, as in the phrase
_without fences_, but oftener it is a group of words. The base word
of the group is usually a noun. A pronoun also may be the object of a
preposition, as in the phrases _for me_, _to him_, _with us_. The object
of a preposition may be compound, as in the phrases, _over land and sea_,
_by day and night_.
=42.= In Lesson XI, it was pointed out that a phrase modifies a noun
or a verb. It does so because the preposition shows a certain relation
between its object and the noun or verb that the phrase modifies. In
the sentence, “The porters at the German railroad stations are dressed
in fine green uniforms,” the preposition _at_ shows a relation of place
between the porters and the German railroad stations, and the preposition
_in_ shows a relation of manner between the act of dressing and the fine
green uniforms.
=Summary.=—A =prepositional phrase= consists of a preposition and its
object.
A =preposition= is a word that is used with its object to form a phrase,
and shows the relation of its object to the word the phrase modifies.
NOTE.—A prepositional phrase in its natural order consists of
(1) the preposition and (2) its object.
The =object= of a preposition is found by asking the question made by
putting _whom_ or _what_ after the preposition.
The object of a preposition may be simple or compound.
The base word of the object may be a noun or a pronoun.
=Exercise.=—Select the prepositional phrases in the following sentences.
Tell what each phrase modifies. Divide each phrase into preposition and
object. Find the base word of the object, and tell what part of speech it
is.
1. This monster lives in a den under yonder mountain with a
brother of his.
2. I carried both letters in my apron pocket.
3. At the age of ten years he fled from the multiplication
table and ran away to sea.
4. In the dusk of spring evenings we sat on the window seat
and watched the lights come out on the high bluff and the long
bridge.
5.
The stormy March is come at last,
With wind, and cloud, and changing skies.
6. With a fair and strong breeze we soon ran into the little
cove to the northward of Fort Moultrie.
7. On the projecting bluffs, and occasionally on the very
mountain tops, stand the ruins of great castles of the olden
times.
8. In the ancient city of London on a certain autumn day in the
second quarter of the sixteenth century, a boy was born to a
poor family of the name of Canty.
9. Now I was comforted by the thought of a tassel, and an ivory
handle, and blue and gold changeable silk.
10. A polar storm can blow for ten days without a break.
11. The aërial path of Hushwing, from his nest in the swamp to
his watchtower on the clearing’s edge, led him past the pool
and the crouching panther.
12.
All the little boys and girls,
With rosy cheeks and flaxen curls,
And sparkling eyes and teeth like pearls,
Tripping and skipping, ran merrily after
The wonderful music, with shouting and laughter.
What part of speech are these words: _yonder_, sentence 1, _apron_ 2,
_multiplication_ 3, _spring_ 4, _very_ 7, _autumn_ 8, _break_ 10?
What is peculiar about the object of _at_ in sentence 5, and of _to_ in
sentence 6?
=43.= Good English requires accuracy in the use of prepositions. Study
the following prepositions, and avoid errors in their use.
=Among= and =between=. The word _between_ usually refers to only two
persons or things, while _among_ refers to more than two.
I walked between my father and my mother.
She walked among us like an angel.
=At= and =in=. We use _in_ when speaking of countries and large cities,
_at_ when speaking of villages or buildings.
The train arrives in Los Angeles at noon.
The train stopped at every little station.
=At= and =to=. _At_ conveys the idea of _being_ in a place, and _to_
conveys the idea of _going_ to a place.
Were you at school yesterday?
I came to school early this morning.
My sister is at home.
We speak of going to school, to church, to the factory, to the store,
to the office, etc., but we do not use _to_ before _home_. We say “I am
_at_ home,” or “Come home,” in the latter case omitting the preposition
entirely.
=Beside= and =besides=. _Beside_ means by the side of, and _besides_
means in addition to.
Little Em’ly sat beside David.
Nobody remained besides the old nurse.
=By= and =with=. _By_ refers to the agent, or doer of an action, and
_with_ to the instrument, or means employed.
The cherry tree was cut down by George Washington with a little
hatchet.
=In= and =into=. _In_ usually conveys the idea of rest, and _into_ of
motion.
We stayed in the library all the evening.
Our hostess took us into the Simmons Library.
I went into the Bank.
I put my money in the Bank.
=Off.= This preposition should not be followed by _of_. We should say,
The pitcher fell off the table.
I got off the car.
In place of the word _onto_ we should use _on_ or _upon_.
He climbed upon the roof of the pilot house.
He stepped on a loose board.
Some words are followed by certain prepositions to express certain
meanings; as,
_Agree with_ thine adversary.
Brutus _agreed to_ the plan.
Brutus _differed with_ Cassius.
My watch is _different from_ yours.
Imogen _parted from_ him with tears.
Imogen would not _part with_ her bracelet.
Many people _died of_ yellow fever.
I am _sorry for_ the mistake.
=Exercise.=—Supply the correct preposition in each of these sentences,
and give your reason in each case:—
1. The fugitive slave ran —— the trees, and took his stand ——
two large cypresses.
2. While we were —— New Orleans, we stayed —— the St. Charles
Hotel.
3.
And so —— the silent sea
I wait the muffled oar.
4. In that Sunday school class there was no girl —— Gertrude.
5. This mark must have been made —— a knife.
6. When you are —— Rome, you must do as the Romans do.
7. Come —— the garden, Maud.
8. Put the silver —— a safe place.
9. John Gilpin’s wig fell —— his head.
10. Get —— this stump so that you can see better.
11. I left the programs —— home.
12. Nobody agrees —— Kate about renting the cottage.
13. Did Will agree —— your plans for the wedding?
14. Charlie differed —— his family about saving his money.
15. An apricot has a different flavor —— a peach.
16. What did the crew die ——?
17. Aren’t you sorry —— his misfortune?
18. The child cried when he parted —— his playthings, and would
not be comforted when he parted —— his old playmates.
XIII. TERM OF ADDRESS. EXCLAMATORY NOUN
=44.= When we speak directly to persons, we often call them by name; as,—
Anne, sister Anne, do you see any one coming?
We do this for several reasons,—sometimes for politeness, sometimes to
show clearly just whom we are speaking to. This name is not necessary to
the structure of the sentence; that is, it forms no part of the subject
or the predicate. We say, therefore, that it is =independent=. We call it
a =term of address=.
=45.= Sometimes, instead of using a person’s name, we invent a term of
address, as when the Arab said to his horse,
“We are far from home, O _racer with the swiftest winds_, but
God is with us.”
What noun is the base word of this term of address?
=46.= A term of address may come at the beginning of a sentence, or at
the end, or somewhere within the sentence. It must be set off by commas
to show that it is independent.
=47.= Sometimes a noun or a noun with modifiers is used as an
=exclamation=; thus,—
A rainbow! it is too late in the day for that.
Joy to the world! the Lord has come.
A noun used like _rainbow_ and _joy_ is called an =exclamatory noun=.
What feeling does the exclamatory noun in the first sentence express? in
the second?
=Summary.=—A =term of address= is a word or a group of words used as a
name to show to whom a remark is made.
The base word of a term of address is usually a noun.
An =exclamatory noun= is a noun used to express strong or sudden feeling.
It may be modified or unmodified.
When a word or a group of words is no part of the subject or the
predicate of a sentence, it is said to be =independent=.
A term of address and an exclamatory noun are independent elements in a
sentence.
A term of address is set off from the rest of the sentence by a comma.
An exclamatory noun is set off by an exclamation point.
=Exercise.=—Select the terms of address in the following sentences. Find
the base word of each. Select also the exclamatory nouns, and tell what
feeling they express.
1. Little brother, canst thou raise me to my feet?
2. “Now, my dears,” said old Mrs. Rabbit one morning, “you may
go into the fields or down the lane, but don’t go into Mr.
McGregor’s garden.”
3. Indeed I was seeking thee, Flathead, but each time we meet
thou art longer and broader by the length of my arm.
4. Come, Lillie, it is time to go to bed.
5. Sweet, sweet home! there’s no place like home.
6. Why, Father, you are rather old to play cat’s cradle.
7.
Sail on, sail on, O ship of State!
Sail on, O Union strong and great!
8. Sir, I humbly beg your pardon.
9. I understand, noble lord, that you have lost two of your men.
10. Jefferson, I think I will go down into the kitchen and bake
a pie.
11. A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse!
12. There is none like thee in the jungle, wise, old, strong,
and most beautiful Kaa.
13. Our price, your royal highness, is three shillings.
14. Grand old outlaw, hero of a thousand lawless raids, in a
few minutes you will be but a great load of carrion.
15.
Brood, kind creature, you need not fear
Thieves and robbers while I am here.
16. Catch me, cowardly knaves, if you can.
17. The stately homes of England! how beautiful they stand!
18. O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells.
XIV. IMPERATIVE SENTENCES
=48.= Besides declarative and interrogative sentences there is another
kind of sentence used when we speak directly to a person for the purpose
of telling him what to do; as, “Run into the garden, and fetch me the
largest pumpkin you can find.” This is called an =imperative sentence=.
=49.= The imperative sentence is often used in giving orders, commands,
or directions, but it is used also in giving advice, and in making
requests or entreaties; as,—
Fling away ambition.
Kindly reply by return mail.
Give us this day our daily bread.
=50.= Usually only the predicate of an imperative sentence is expressed,
and so the first word of such a sentence is likely to be a verb. The
subject is the pronoun _you_, _thou_, or _ye_, signifying the person
or persons addressed. It is customary to omit this pronoun, and we say
that the subject is “understood.” Occasionally, however, it is expressed
in familiar conversation; as, “You go away.” Sometimes, too, in solemn
commands the pronoun _thou_ or _ye_ is expressed; as, “Go and do thou
likewise.” “Keep ye the law.”
Note that the verb in an imperative sentence commands rather than asserts.
An imperative sentence is frequently preceded by a term of address, but
this must not be mistaken for the subject; as, “Father, hear our prayer.”
=Summary.=—An =imperative sentence= is one that expresses a command or an
entreaty.
The subject of an imperative sentence is the pronoun _you_, _thou_, or
_ye_. This pronoun is usually omitted.
=Exercise.=—Tell what the following imperative sentences denote. Select
the predicate verbs, and the subjects whenever they are expressed. Select
also the terms of address.
1. Open everything, go everywhere except to this little room.
2. Come and hold this skein of yarn for me.
3. Go and wash Kala Nag, and attend to his ears, and see that
there are no thorns in his feet.
4. Don’t count your chickens before they are hatched.
5. Rouse to some high and holy work of love.
6. Don’t you show your face here with a pocket on you. If your
heavy pants have any in ’em, rip ’em out.
7.
Give freely and receive, but take from none
By greed, or force, or fraud, what is his own.
8. Learn to box, to ride, to pull an oar, and to swim.
9. Polly dear, say good morning to Mrs. Chatterton, and then
run away.
10. Do the work first which is next at hand.
11.
Turn again, Whittington,
Lord Mayor of London.
12. O Lord of Hosts, provide a champion for thy people.
13.
O brave marsh Mary-buds, rich and yellow,
Give me your money to hold.
14.
O Columbine, open your folded wrapper
Where two twin turtledoves dwell.
15.
O Cuckoopint, toll me the purple clapper
That hangs in your clear, green bell.
Account for the commas in sentences 1, 3, 8, 9, and 11.
XV. INTERJECTIONS
=51.= There are certain words like _oh_, _alas_, _pshaw_, _ugh_, that
are used to express strong feeling,—joy, surprise, pain, disgust, anger,
etc. These words are called =interjections=. An interjection is a part of
speech.
=52.= Interjections are no part of the subject or the predicate of a
sentence; hence, like terms of address, they are said to be independent.
They are set off from the rest of the sentence by some mark of
punctuation, usually an exclamation point, sometimes only a comma.
=53.= We may use a noun or a verb in such a way that it becomes an
interjection; as, “_Goodness!_ what a fright you gave me!” “_Hurrah!_
the lake is frozen over!” Such a verb as _hark_ is often used as an
interjection, not to express sudden feeling so much as to arrest
attention; as, “_Hark! hark!_ the dogs do bark.”
=54.= The interjection _O_ is often used before a term of address; as, “O
Lord, how manifold are thy works!”
=Summary.=—An =interjection= is a word used to express sudden or strong
feeling.
=Exercise.=—Select all the interjections in the following sentences, and
tell what each one is used for:—
1. Boom! Boom!—two of the guns had gone off together.
2. Alas! Amanda, by mistake, had waked up the little boys an
hour too early.
3. Bah! men are blood brothers of the monkey people.
4. Hallelujah! in one day more we shall be sitting in the
sunshine on our own doorstep.
5.
O mother dear, Jerusalem,
When shall I come to thee?
6. Ping! ping! ping! went the rifles; and Boom! boom! boom!
answered the waves.
7. Aha! the world is iron in these days.
8. Alas! it was the head of old Silverspot.
9. Scrooge said, “Pooh! Pooh!” and closed the door.
10. Hark! hark! the lark at heaven’s gate sings.
11. Alack-a-day! travelers encounter all the unusual bits of
weather.
12. Hey! Willie Winkie, are you coming then?
13. O comrades, if we must fight, let us fight for ourselves.
14. Hush! the winds roar hoarse and deep.
15. Lo, the star which they saw in the east went before them
till it came and stood over where the young child was.
16. Piff! the packet landed exactly as it was intended, on the
corn-husk mat in front of the screen door.
17. Oh, London is a man’s town.
XVI. EXCLAMATORY SENTENCES
=55.= We have found that sentences are made to _state_, or to _ask_, or
to _command_, and hence are classified as _declarative_, _interrogative_,
and _imperative_.
There is a fourth class of sentence which resembles an interjection,
being used to express sudden or strong feeling; as, “How calm and lovely
the river was!” “What a pity it is!” These are called =exclamatory
sentences=. They are always followed by an exclamation point.
=56.= Such sentences as those just quoted, which begin with _how_ or
_what_, are exclamatory in form as well as in sense, and are therefore
sometimes called pure exclamatory sentences. They are always in the
transposed order. Some sentences, however, are exclamatory only in
sense. They are in the natural order, and when printed, could not be
distinguished from declarative or imperative sentences if it were not
for the exclamation point, which indicates that they were spoken with
strong feeling; as, “Now you may see that noblest of all ocean sights for
beauty, a full-rigged ship under sail!” “Helen Maria! leave the room this
moment!”
=Summary.=—An =exclamatory sentence= is one that expresses sudden or
strong feeling.
=Exercise.=—Tell why each of these sentences is exclamatory. Rearrange in
the natural order those which are transposed. Divide each of them into
subject and predicate. Select the simple subject and the simple predicate.
1. How soundly he sleeps! From what a depth he draws that easy
breath!
2. What tales he had told that day!
3. How doubly delicious things tasted in the clear, spicy air
of the woods!
4. How keen a scent those children had for apples in the cellar!
5. Oh, how sweet the water was! How it soothed the tender spots
under her weary wings! How it cooled her ears and her tired
eyelids!
6. With what a glory comes and goes the year!
7. What a racket those rusty cannon had made in the heyday of
their unchastened youth! What stories they might tell now if
their puffy, metallic lips could only speak!
8. Burn the hut over their heads!
9. Ugh! may the red mange destroy the dogs of this village!
10. Talk of the curiosity of women!
11. So blessedly evanescent is the memory of seasickness!
12. Hark! how the music leaps out from his throat!
XVII. CONJUNCTIONS
=57.= Notice the sentences,—
Every pine and fir and hemlock wore ermine too dear for an earl.
I stood and watched by the window.
The parts of the compound subject in the first sentence and of the
compound predicate in the second are joined by the word _and_. This very
common word has a use different from that of any word studied thus far;
hence it is considered another part of speech. Because it is a joining
word, it is called a =conjunction=.
There are many conjunctions besides _and_ that we all have frequent
occasion to use. Among these are _nor_, _or_, _but_, _yet_, _therefore_,
_so_, and _hence_.
=58.= Conjunctions may join not only single words, such as nouns, verbs,
pronouns, adjectives, and adverbs, but also phrases, and even whole
sentences; as,—
You may enter without money and without price.
The stiff rails were softened to swan’s down,
And still fluttered down the snow.
=59.= Although the word _but_ is commonly used as a conjunction, yet,
in the sentence, “I work every day but Sunday,” it is a preposition,
and means _except_. What is its object? The great difference between a
conjunction and a preposition is that a preposition always has an object,
whereas a conjunction never has one.
=Summary.=—A =conjunction= is a word that joins sentences or parts of
sentences.
=Exercise.=—Select all the conjunctions in the following sentences, and
tell what they join:—
1. Crow was ten years old now, and he was very black and
polished and thin.
2. Mount St. Michael was not only strongly fortified, but it
was well guarded by nature.
3. The horse neither switches his tail, nods his head, nor
stamps his feet.
4. Thirty years later, the remnants of her wedding gowns,—the
blue silk, the black silk, the striped silk, and the plaid
silk,—were cut into diamonds and squares, and then pieced
together lovingly and proudly into a patchwork quilt.
5. There are several steamboats which run up and down the Seine
like omnibuses, and the charge to passengers is about two cents
apiece.
6. After steaming for several hours over the smooth river and
between these flat lowlands, we reach the city of Rotterdam.
7. These great ice streams are always moving slowly downwards;
hence they carry off, year by year, the snow which falls upon
the mountain above.
8. The stars danced overhead, and by his side the broad and
shallow river ran over its stony bed with a loud but soothing
murmur that filled all the air with entreaty.
9. The things that Mowgli did and saw and heard when he was
wandering from one people to another, with or without his four
companions, would make many stories.
10. I drove the cows home through the sweet ferns and down the
rocky slopes.
11. The sucker’s mouth is not formed for the gentle angleworm
nor the delusive fly of the fisherman.
12. Our ancestors were very worthy people, but their wall
papers were abominable.
13. The keeper of the lodgings did not supply meals to his
guests; so we breakfasted at a small chophouse in a crooked
street.
14. The Northmen had no compass; they must steer by the sun or
by the stars, guess at their rate of sailing, and tell by that
how many more days distant was their destination.
15. Through this silence and through this waste, where the
sudden lights flapped and went out again, the sleigh and the
two that pulled it crawled like things in a nightmare.
16. There may be times when you cannot find help, but there is
no time when you cannot give help.
17.
Over the meadows and through the woods,
To grandfather’s house we go.
18. The world has never had a good definition of the word
liberty, and the American people are much in want of one.
XVIII. CLAUSES. SIMPLE SENTENCES
=60.= We have learned that a sentence must contain a subject and a
predicate. We have another name for a combination of subject and
predicate. We call it a =clause=.
=61.= When a sentence consists of but one clause, we call it a =simple
sentence=; and we say that this clause is =independent=, because it can
stand alone and make sense.
=62.= A simple sentence may have a compound subject or a compound
predicate, or both, and yet so long as these subjects and predicates go
together, we say that there is only one clause; as in the sentence, “The
lion and the mouse helped each other and became friends.”
=Summary.=—A =clause= is any combination of subject and predicate.
An =independent clause= is one that can stand alone and make sense.
A =simple sentence= contains but one independent clause.
A simple sentence may have a compound subject or a compound predicate, or
both.
=Exercise.=—Analyze the following simple sentences:—
MODEL.—_Then a piece of mica, or a little pool, or even a highly polished
leaf will flash like a heliograph._
This is a simple, declarative sentence.
The subject is _a piece of mica, or a little pool, or even a highly
polished leaf_. The predicate is _will flash like a heliograph then_.