Higher Lessons in English Part 3

22. Vapors -----.

23. Music -----.

24. Pitch -----.

TO THE TEACHER.--This exercise may profitably be extended by supplying several subjects to each predicate, and several predicates to each subject.

LESSON 6.

a.n.a.lYSIS.

The predicate sometimes contains more than one word.

+Direction+.--_a.n.a.lyze as in Lesson 4_.

1. Moisture is exhaled.

2. Conclusions are drawn.

3. Industry will enrich.

4. Stars have disappeared.

5. Twilight is falling.

6. Leaves are turning.

7. Sirius has appeared.

8. Constantinople had been captured.

9. Electricity has been harnessed.

10. Tempests have been raging.

11. Nuisances should be abated.

12. Jerusalem was destroyed.

13. Light can be reflected.

14. Rain must have fallen.

15. Planets have been discovered.

16. Palaces shall crumble.

17. Storms may be gathering.

18. Ess.e.x might have been saved.

19. Caesar could have been crowned, 20. Inventors may be encouraged.

+Direction+.--_Point out the subject and the predicate of each sentence in Lessons 12 and 17_.

Look first for the word that a.s.serts, and then, by putting _who_ or _what_ before this predicate, the subject may easily be found.

TO THE TEACHER.--Let this exercise be continued till the pupils can readily point out the subject and the predicate in ordinary simple sentences.

When this can be done promptly, the first and most important step in a.n.a.lysis will have been taken.

LESSON 7.

COMPOSITION--SUBJECT AND PREDICATE.

+Direction+.--_Make at least ten good sentences out of the words in the three columns following_:--

The helping words in column 2 must be prefixed to words in column 3 in order to make complete predicates. a.n.a.lyze your sentences.

1 2 3 Arts is progressing.

Allen was tested.

Life are command.

Theories will prolonged.

Science would released.

Truth were falling.

Shadows may be burned.

Moscow has been measured.

Raleigh have been prevail.

Quant.i.ty should have been lost.

Review Questions.

What is language proper? What is English grammar? What is a sentence? What are its two parts? What is the subject of a sentence? The predicate of a sentence? The a.n.a.lysis of a sentence? What is a diagram? What rule has been given for the use of capital letters? For the period? May the predicate contain more than one word? Ill.u.s.trate.

TO THE TEACHER.--Introduce the cla.s.s to the Parts of Speech before the close of this recitation. See "Introductory Hints" below.

LESSON 8.

CLa.s.sES OF WORDS.

NOUNS.

+Introductory Hints+.--We have now reached the point where we must cla.s.sify the words of our language. But we are appalled by their number. If we must learn all about the forms and the uses of a hundred thousand words by studying these words one by one, we shall die ignorant of English grammar.

But may we not deal with words as we do with plants? If we had to study and name each leaf and stem and flower, taken singly, we should never master the botany even of our garden-plants.

But G.o.d has made things to resemble one another and to differ from one another; and, as he has given us the power to detect resemblances and differences, we are able to group things that have like qualities.

From certain likenesses in form and in structure, we put certain flowers together and call them roses; from other likenesses, we get another cla.s.s called lilies; from others still, violets. Just so we cla.s.sify trees and get the oak, the elm, the maple, etc.

The myriad objects of nature fall into comparatively few cla.s.ses. Studying each cla.s.s, we learn all we need to know of every object in it.

From their likenesses, though not in form, we cla.s.sify words. We group them according to their similarities in use, or office, in the sentence. Sorting them thus, we find that they all fall into eight cla.s.ses, which we call Parts of Speech.

We find that many words name things--are the names of things of which we can think and speak. These we place in one cla.s.s and call them +Nouns+ (Latin _nomen_, a name, a noun).

p.r.o.nOUNS.

Without the little words which we shall italicize, it would be difficult for one stranger to ask another, "Can _you_ tell _me who_ is the postmaster at B?" The one would not know what name to use instead of _you_, the other would not recognize the name in the place of _me_, and both would be puzzled to find a subst.i.tute for _who_.

_I, you, my, me, what, we, it, he, who, him, she, them,_ and other words are used in place of nouns, and are, therefore, called +p.r.o.nouns+ (Lat.

_pro_, for, and _nomen_, a noun).