Practical Grammar and Composition Part 32

A GENERAL EXERCISE ON GRAMMAR

EXERCISE 63

_Correct such of the following sentences as are wrong. After each sentence, in parenthesis, is placed the number of the paragraph in which is discussed the question involved:_

1. He likes to boast of Mary cooking. (71.) 2. It is an error and which can't be corrected. (83.) 3. He said he should come if he could. (68.) 4. Can I use your pencil? (69.) 5. If you were I, what would you do? (68.) 6. We would like to go. (68.) 7. Neither the members of the committee nor the chairman is present. (63-5.) 8. He only spoke of history, not of art. (45.) 9. Socialists don't have no use for trusts. (46.) 10. This is John's book. (13.) 11. I feared that they should not come. (68.) 12. Mother's and father's death. (15-4.) 13. Mary was eager to have gone. (73.) 14. The boys, as well as their teacher, is to be praised. (64-1.) 15. The members of Congress watch each other. (44.) 16. I fear that I will take cold. (67.) 17. Some one has forgotten their umbrella. (20.) 18. Neither of the three is well. (43.) 19. Whom do you consider to be the brighter man in the cla.s.s?

(29) (41.) 20. He is determined that he shall go away. (67.) 21. Neither John nor James brought their books. (22.) 22. Whom did the man say he was? (29.) 23. His clothes look prettily. (38.) 24. The play progressed smooth until the last act. (38.) 25. Henry and William is to come to-morrow. (22.) 26. This is the lesser of the two evils. (40.) 27. Do you think you will stop at Chicago? (66.) 28. I am believed to be him. (29.) 29. He sings very illy. (40.) 30. When they come to build the bridge the stream was too deep for them to work. (54.) 31. She is very discontented. (48.) 32. Iron is the most useful of all other metals. (41-3.) 33. The barrel bursted from the pressure. (54.) 34. Shall my work soon begin? (66.) 35. He is six foot tall. (42.) 36. Seeing his mistake, I was not urged further by him. (71.) 37. Will the dog bite? (66.) 38. I am believed to be he. (29.) 39. I am eager to have seen it. (73.) 40. I think it shall rain soon. (67.) 41. She showed the dish to Mary and I. (29.) 42. Mary asked her mother to wash her face. (34-4.) 43. Who did the man say he was? (29.) 44. He deserved the place, for he is well educated, for he has been through Oxford University. (83.) 45. Choose who you please. (29.) 46. It don't make any difference about that. (64-5.) 47. The pump was froze fast. (54.) 48. A boat load of fishes was the days catch. (13-12.) 49. Wagner was never too rattled to play. (48.) 50. It is him. (29.) 51. He did it hisself. (31.) 52. He eat all there was on the table. (54.) 53. He sent a chest of tea, and it was made of tin. (34-4.) 54. The murderer was hung at noon. (54.) 55. It is a queer kind of a book. (47.) 56. You may give it to whoever you wish. (32.) 57. Whoever is nominated, will you vote for him? (32.) 58. I think I will find the work easy. (67.) 59. He sent his son abroad, being anxious for his health. (71.) 60. Neither they nor Mary was there. (22.) 61. Brewer's the blacksmith's shop. (15-6.) 62. Goliath was slew by David. (54.) 63. Myself and mother are sick. (30.) 64. John is as good, if not better than she. (41-4.) 65. If anybody creates a disturbance, have the police put them out. (21.) 66. The paper was addressed to John and herself. (30.) 67. John's and William's dog. (15-4.) 68. Tell the boy and girl to come here. (47.) 69. Everybody's else mail has came. (15, 54.) 70. He knows nothing about it but that he has read in the paper. (34-6.) 71. Awake me early in the morning. (57.) 72. If he be honest, he has not shown it. (60.) 73. Either Adams or Monroe were president. (63-4.) 74. Washington, the general and the president, was born on February 22d. (47.) 75. Horne's and Company's Store. (15-4.) 76. A hole had been tore in the ships' side. (54.) 77. I sat my chair by the window. (57.) 78. I sat myself down to rest. (57.) 79. I can't hardly see to write. (46.) 80. John is one of the people who comes each night. (64-4.) 81. He laid on the couch all day. (57.) 82. Death is when one ceases to live. (81.) 83. I was told to set here. (57.) 84. Iron is more useful than any other metal. (41-3.) 85. I not only told him, but also Morton. (84.) 86. McKinley was nowhere near so strenuous as Roosevelt. (40.) 87. It weighs several ton. (42.) 88. John is not as bright as Henry. (83.) 89. Germany and France's ships. (15-4.) 90. John's employer's wife's friend. (15-5.) 91. You had ought to go home. (54.) 92. This is the man who wants the ticket. (26.) 93. Which is the larger of the three? (41-1.) 94. An axe is the tool which they use. (26.) 95. It is that characteristic that makes him so disagreeable. (26.) 96. The horse which we drove, and the horse which you had last week are the same. (26, 34-5.) 97. I don't like those kind of people. (42.) 98. I do not question but what he is right. (34-6.) 99. Let him lay there. (57.) 100. My friend and me drove to Hughesville. (29.) 101. American and English grammar is alike. (63-1.) 102. William and Mary has to go to the city. (63-2.) 103. The boy, and not his parents, were wrong. (63-3.) 104. The price of meat has raised. (57.) 105. This train runs slow. (38.) 106. Which is the best of the two? (41-1.) 107. Iron is the most useful of all other metals. (41-3.) 108. Without the safety catch is raised, the gun can't be discharged. (85.) 109. The family is all at home. (62.) 110. The horse run the mile in two minutes. (54.) 111. This suit hasn't hardly been wore. (46, 54.) 112. The knife has laid there all day. (57.) 113. The noise of the street was very loud, which kept me awake. (34-9.) 114. The jury has agreed. (62.) 115. Such things make him terrible nervous. (38.) 116. Whom do you think is the brightest man? (29.) 117. The army were defeated. (62.) 118. If I was you, I should go at once. (60.) 119. She may go if she wishes or not. (76.) 120. Everybody whom was there was given a vote. (79.) 121. I like her better than you. (76.) 122. Who do you want? (79.) 123. Knox is one of the alumnuses of the college. (13-13.) 124. By law, no one is allowed to kill more than two deers. (13.) 125. The clock had just struck five when the cab came. (80.) 126. When was you there? (64-2.) 127. He is as tall as me. (83.) 128. Neither John nor her will come. (29.) 129. You hear such statements everywheres. (34-8, 40.) 130. You never can tell whom you will meet on the train. (79.) 131. I wish you were more like she. (29.) 132. Winter, with her frost, destroyed them all. (20.) 133. Tell everybody to cast their vote for Jones. (21.) 134. He is the only one of the members who pay dues. (64-4.) 135. Was it necessary, I should jump? (60.) 136. The production of oranges were encouraged. (64-3.) 137. The ship, with all its pa.s.sengers, were lost. (64-1.) 138. He has fell from his chair. (57.) 139. I will raise and go to my father. (57.) 140. The policeman failed the ruffian with his club. (57.) 141. They make pottery in Trenton. (34-8.) 142. Iron is more useful than all metals. (41-3.) 143. I intended to and have endeavored to finish the work. (75.) 144. He won't come, except we pay his expenses. (85.) 145. Neither German or French is taught there. (83.) 146. We have needed you and did our best to find you. (75.) 147. He awoke at nine. (57.) 148. I wish I was a bird. (60.) 149. If it rains, I stay at school. (60.) 150. Thou shouldst pray when you are in trouble. (34-2.) 151. The Indians, they hid behind trees. (34-3.) 152. We started out for the city at noon. (86.) 153. The king, he said they should kill him. (34-3.) 154. Outside of the house stood a large moving van. (86.)

CHAPTER VII

SENTENCES

87. Cla.s.sified as to their rhetorical construction, sentences are considered as loose, periodic, and balanced.

The LOOSE SENTENCE is so constructed that it may be closed at two or more places and yet make complete sense; as,

Napoleon felt his _weakness_, and tried to win back popular _favor_ by concession after _concession_, until, at his fall, he had nearly restored parliamentary _government_.

Note that this sentence could be closed after the words. _weakness, favor_, and _concession_, as well as after _government_.

88. The PERIODIC SENTENCE holds the complete thought in suspense until the close of the sentence. Compare the following periodic sentence with the loose sentence under --87:

Napoleon, feeling his weakness, and trying to win back popular favor by concession after concession, had, at his fall, nearly restored parliamentary government.

Both loose and periodic sentences are proper to use, but, since periodic sentences demand more careful and definite thought, the untrained writer should try to use them as much as possible.

89. The BALANCED SENTENCE is made up of parts similar in form, but often contrasted in meaning; as, _He is a man; Jones is a gentleman._

90. SENTENCE LENGTH. As to the length of the sentence there is no fixed rule. Frequently, sentences are too long, and are, in their thought, involved and hard to follow. On the other hand, if there is a succession of short sentences, choppiness and roughness are the result. One should carefully examine sentences which contain more than thirty or thirty-five words to see that they are clear in their meaning and accurate in their construction.

EXERCISE 64

_Compose, or search out in your reading, five loose sentences, five periodic sentences, and five balanced sentences._

EXERCISE 65

_In the following sentences, determine whether each sentence is loose, periodic, or balanced. Change all loose sentences to the periodic form:_

1. At the same time the discontent of the artisans made the lower cla.s.s fear a revolution, and that cla.s.s turned to Napoleon, because they felt him to be the sole hope for order and stable government.

2. The members of the council were appointed by the king, and held office only at his pleasure.

3. A society and inst.i.tutions that had been growing up for years was overturned and swept away by the French Revolution.

4. Galileo was summoned to Rome, imprisoned, and forced publicly to adjure his teaching that the earth moved around the sun.

5. He draws and sketches with tolerable skill, but paints abominably.

6. Loose sentences may be clear; periodic sentences may not be clear.

7. He rode up the mountains as far as he could before dismounting and continuing the ascent on foot.

8. They visited the town where their father had lived, and while there, procured the key to the house in which he had been born.

9. His death caused great grief and extreme financial distress in the family.

10. There stands the Tower of London in all its grimness and centuries of age, holding within its walls the scene of many a stirring tragedy.

11. Few men dislike him, but many would gladly see him overthrown merely as an example.

12. Germany is moving in the same direction, although the reformers find it a hard task to influence public opinion, and a far harder one to change the various laws prevalent in the many German states.

13. Is this thing we call life, with all its troubles, pains, and woes, after all, worth living?

14. He read much, but advanced little intellectually, for all the facts and philosophy of his reading found no permanent lodgment in his mind.

15. His coming home was very unexpected, because he had started on a trip that usually took ten days, and that he had said would take longer this time.

16. It was during the time of the National Convention that Napoleon first became very prominent by defending the convention against a mob.

EXERCISE 66

_Combine each of the following groups of sentences into one well constructed long sentence:_

1. In highly developed commercial communities banks cannot afford s.p.a.ce in their vaults for valuables. Especially, they cannot afford it merely to accommodate their patrons. Hence, in such communities the furnishing of places for safe deposit has become a separate business.

2. History should be a part of the course in all schools. It develops the memory. It furnishes the explanation of many social phenomena.

It broadens the intellectual view. It gives culture as no other study can give it.

3. He never desired a higher education. This was possible because of the money bequeathed to him by his father. It had left him no need for a great earning capacity. More likely, it was because of the inborn dulness and lethargy of his mind.

4. New York is the pivotal state in all national elections. Its great number of electors makes it always possible for it to throw the election either way. Therefore, until one knows to which party New York will fall, he cannot tell how the election will result.

5. Our forefathers were devout. They were easily shocked in many ways. However, they permitted many liberties in the application of sermons to particular individuals. Such things would nowadays be strongly disapproved or resented.

6. Man's life is divided into two parts by a constantly moving point. This point is called the present. It divides the past from the future.

7. The Spartans were tormented by ten thousand absurd restraints.

They were unable to please themselves in the choice of their wives.

They were unable to please themselves in their choice of food or clothing. They were compelled to a.s.sume a peculiar manner, and to talk in a peculiar style. Yet they gloried in their liberty.

8. The mere approach to the temperance question is through a forest of statistics. This forest is formidable and complicated. It causes one, in time, to doubt the truth of numbers.