Graded Lessons in English Part 28

+To the Teacher+.--For additional review, see "Scheme," p. 185.

If the early presentation of an outline of technical grammar is not compelled by a prescribed course of study, we should here introduce a series of lessons in the construction of sentences, paragraphs, letters, and general compositions. The pages following Lesson 100 will furnish matter.

See especially COMPOSITION EXERCISES in the Supplement--Selection from Beecher.

PARTS OF SPEECH SUBDIVIDED.

LESSON 71.

CLa.s.sES OF NOUNS.

+Hints for Oral Instruction+.--Hereafter, in the "Hints," we shall drop the dialogue form, but we expect the teacher to continue it. A poor teacher does all the talking, a good teacher makes the pupils talk.

The teacher may here refer to his talk about the cla.s.sification of birds, and show that, after birds have been arranged in great cla.s.ses, such as robins, sparrows, etc., these cla.s.ses will need to be subdivided, if the pupil is to be made thoroughly acquainted with this department of the animal kingdom. So, after grouping _words_ into the eight great cla.s.ses, called Parts of Speech, these cla.s.ses may be divided into other cla.s.ses.

For instance, take the two nouns _city_ and _Brooklyn_. The word _city_ is the _common_ name of all places of a certain cla.s.s, but the word _Brooklyn_ is the _proper_ or particular name of an _individual_ of this cla.s.s. We have here, then, two kinds of nouns which we call +Common+ and +Proper+.

Let the teacher write a number of nouns on the board, and require the pupil to cla.s.sify them and give the reasons for the cla.s.sification.

To prepare the pupil thoroughly for this work, the teacher will find it necessary to explain why such words as _music, mathematics, knowledge_, etc., are common nouns. _Music, e. g._, is not a proper noun, for it is not a name given to an individual thing to distinguish it from other things of the same cla.s.s. There are no other things of the same cla.s.s--it forms a cla.s.s by itself. So we call the noun _music_ a _common_ noun.

CLa.s.sES OF p.r.o.nOUNS.

The speaker seldom refers to himself by name, but uses the p.r.o.noun _I_ instead. In speaking _to_ a person, we often use the p.r.o.noun _you_ instead of his name. In speaking _of_ a person or thing that has been mentioned before, we say _he_ or _she_ or _it_. These words that by their _form_ indicate the speaker, the hearer, or the person or thing spoken of, are called +Personal p.r.o.nouns+. See Lesson 19, "Hints."

Give sentences containing nouns repeated, and require the pupils to improve these sentences by subst.i.tuting p.r.o.nouns.

When we wish to refer to an object that has been mentioned in _another_ clause, and at the same time to _connect the clauses_, we use a cla.s.s of p.r.o.nouns called +Relative p.r.o.nouns+. Let the teacher ill.u.s.trate by using the p.r.o.nouns _who, which_, and _that_. See Lesson 57, "Hints for Oral Instruction."

When we wish to ask about anything whose _name is unknown_, we use a cla.s.s of p.r.o.nouns called +Interrogative p.r.o.nouns+. The interrogative p.r.o.noun stands for the unknown name, and asks for it; as, _Who_ comes here? _What_ is this?

_Both men were wrong_. Let us omit _men_ and say, _Both were wrong_. You see the meaning is not changed--_both_ is here equivalent to _both men_, that is, it performs the office of an adjective and that of a noun. It is therefore an +Adjective p.r.o.noun+. Let the teacher further ill.u.s.trate the office of the adjective p.r.o.noun by using the words _each, all, many, some, such_, etc.

DEFINITIONS.

CLa.s.sES OF NOUNS.

+A _Common Noun_ is a name which belongs to all things of a cla.s.s+.

+A _Proper Noun_ is the particular name of an individual+.

CLa.s.sES OF p.r.o.nOUNS.

+A _Personal p.r.o.noun_ is a p.r.o.noun that by its form denotes the speaker, the one spoken to, or the one spoken of+.

+A _Relative p.r.o.noun_ is one that relates to some preceding word or words, and connects clauses+.

+An _Interrogative p.r.o.noun_ is one with which a question is asked+.

+An _Adjective p.r.o.noun_ is one that performs the offices of both an adjective and a noun+.

LESSON 72.

SENTENCE-BUILDING.

Build each of the following groups of nouns into a sentence. See Rule, Lesson 15.

webster cares office washington repose home marshfleld.

george washington commander army revolution president united states westmoreland state virginia month february.

san francisco city port pacific trade united states lines steamships sandwich islands j.a.pan china australia.

Write five simple sentences, each containing one of the five personal p.r.o.nouns: _I, thou_ or _you, he, she_, and _it_.

Write four complex sentences, each containing one of the four relative p.r.o.nouns: _who, which, that_, and _what_.

_What_ is used as a relative p.r.o.noun when the antecedent is omitted. The word for which a p.r.o.noun stands is called its antecedent. When we express the antecedent, we use _which_ or _that_. I shall do _what_ is required; I shall do the _thing which_ is required, or _that_ is required.

Build three interrogative sentences, each containing one of the three interrogative p.r.o.nouns: _who, which_, and _what_.

Build eight sentences, each containing one of the following adjective p.r.o.nouns: _few, many, much, some, this, these, that, those_.

LESSON 73.

CLa.s.sES OF ADJECTIVES.

+Hints for Oral Instruction+.--When I say _large, round, sweet, yellow oranges_, the words _large, round, sweet_, and _yellow_ modify the word _oranges_ by telling the _kind_, and limit the application of the word to oranges of that kind.

When I say _this orange, yonder orange, one orange_, the words _this, yonder_, and _one_ do not tell the kind, but simply point out or number the orange, and limit the application of the word to the orange pointed out or numbered.

Adjectives of the first cla.s.s describe by giving a quality, and so are called +Descriptive adjectives+.

Adjectives of the second cla.s.s define by pointing out or numbering, and so are called +Definitive adjectives+.

Let the teacher write nouns on the board, and require the pupils to modify them by appropriate descriptive and definitive adjectives.

DEFINITIONS.

+A _Descriptive Adjective_ is one that modifies by expressing quality+.