Part 1
# English grammar ### By Stewart, Lillian Kimball
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ENGLISH GRAMMAR
BY LILLIAN G. KIMBALL FORMERLY HEAD OF ENGLISH DEPARTMENT, STATE NORMAL SCHOOL, OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN AUTHOR OF “THE STRUCTURE OF THE ENGLISH SENTENCE” “ELEMENTARY ENGLISH, BOOK ONE,” AND “ELEMENTARY ENGLISH, BOOK TWO”
NEW YORK ·:· CINCINNATI ·:· CHICAGO AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY
COPYRIGHT, 1912, BY AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY.
ENTERED AT STATIONERS’ HALL, LONDON.
KIMBALL’S ENG. GRAMMAR.
PREFACE
The purpose of this book is to set forth in a simple and practical manner the principles of modern English Grammar. The aim has been not only to give the pupils an insight into the structure of the English sentence, but also to provide them with exercises helpful to the formation of good habits of speech.
It is a matter of common knowledge among teachers of grammar that a mere understanding of the rules of syntax does not insure the avoidance of errors and the use of correct forms. The use of language by young persons is instinctive and spontaneous rather than reflective, hence the most effective way for them to secure correctness of speech is through imitation and practice. Recognizing this fundamental fact in language teaching, the author has provided many exercises both for the learning of correct forms and for practice in their use. These the teacher is expected to supplement by constant criticism, example, and stimulus.
After the pupil has been led to appreciate and strive for correctness of speech, he naturally wishes to understand why a certain form is correct or incorrect, to have a test for his own speech and a standard by which to judge the speech of others. Only by such an understanding does he gain a mastery of the form of a language so that he can use it with ease, freedom, and certainty. To promote such a mastery of English, the author has made each construction perfectly clear, and has led the pupil through accurate reasoning to conclusions which are strengthened and established by their application to many illustrative sentences chosen from standard literature.
The selection and the arrangement of subject matter have been carefully considered in the light of experience in the classroom. The arrangement is at the same time pedagogical and logical. Each point is taken up where it is called for by the preceding lesson and where it will be of greatest use in making clear what follows. Technical points that have little or no practical value have been omitted, but whatever is of benefit in helping the pupil to use or to interpret the English language has been included.
Thanks are due to many teachers for helpful criticisms of the manuscript of this book.
CONTENTS
LESSON PAGE
I. Declarative Sentences. Subject and Predicate 9
II. Simple Subject. Nouns 11
III. Classification of Nouns 13
IV. Verbs 15
V. Pronouns 18
VI. Compound Subject and Compound Predicate 19
VII. Transposed Subject and Predicate 22
VIII. Interrogative Sentences 23
IX. Adjectives 25
X. Adverbs 28
XI. Phrases. Analysis of Sentences 31
XII. Prepositions 34
XIII. Term of Address. Exclamatory Noun 39
XIV. Imperative Sentences 41
XV. Interjections 43
XVI. Exclamatory Sentences 44
XVII. Conjunctions 46
XVIII. Clauses. Simple Sentences 48
XIX. Compound Sentences 50
XX. Dependent Clauses. Complex Sentences 52
XXI. Review: Classification of Sentences 55
XXII. Review: Parts of Speech 57
XXIII. Transitive Verbs. Object of Verb 60
XXIV. Intransitive Verbs asserting Action 64
XXV. Intransitive Verbs asserting Being. Nouns as Subjective Complements 66
XXVI. Adjectives as Subjective Complements 69
XXVII. Review of Verbs 72
XXVIII. Nouns: Number 74
XXIX. Nouns: Gender 77
XXX. Possessive Nouns 80
XXXI. Nouns: Case 83
XXXII. Nouns: The Appositive 85
XXXIII. Appositive Adjectives 88
XXXIV. Indirect Object 89
XXXV. Adverbial Noun Phrases 91
XXXVI. Adverbial Noun Phrases 92
XXXVII. Objective Complement 94
XXXVIII. Parsing of Nouns 96
XXXIX. Personal Pronouns 98
XL. Uses of Personal Pronouns 100
XLI. Uses of Possessive Personal Pronouns 103
XLII. Compound Personal Pronouns 106
XLIII. Interrogative Pronouns 108
XLIV. Descriptive Adjectives 110
XLV. Limiting Adjectives 113
XLVI. Comparison of Adjectives 116
XLVII. Review of Adjectives 120
XLVIII. Adjective Pronouns 121
XLIX. Verbs: Tense 123
L. The Indicative Mode 127
LI. The Interrogative Form of the Indicative Mode 129
LII. The Subjunctive Mode 131
LIII. The Imperative Mode 134
LIV. Principal Parts of Verbs. Regular and Irregular Verbs 135
LV. Voice 140
LVI. The Passive Voice 144
LVII. The Progressive Conjugation 148
LVIII. The Emphatic Conjugation 149
LIX. Parsing of Verbs 150
LX. The Auxiliary Verbs _Shall_ and _Will_ 151
LXI. Defective Verbs. Verb Phrases 154
LXII. Direct and Indirect Discourse 162
LXIII. Agreement of Verb and Subject. Collective Nouns 165
LXIV. Review of Verbs 168
LXV. Classification of Adverbs. Simple Adverbs 169
LXVI. Conjunctive Adverbs 171
LXVII. Summary of Adverbs 173
LXVIII. Coördinate Conjunctions 174
LXIX. Subordinate Conjunctions 176
LXX. Adverbial Clauses of Time, Place, and Manner 180
LXXI. Adverbial Clauses of Cause, Purpose, and Result 183
LXXII. Adverbial Clauses of Condition and Concession 186
LXXIII. Adverbial Clauses of Comparison 188
LXXIV. Analysis of Sentences 191
LXXV. Adjective Clauses 193
LXXVI. Relative Pronouns 196
LXXVII. Noun Clauses 200
LXXVIII. Introductory Words of Noun Clauses 203
LXXIX. Review of Clauses 206
LXXX. Review of Pronouns 207
LXXXI. Infinitives 209
LXXXII. Infinitives as Subjects or Complements 212
LXXXIII. Infinitives as Modifiers of Nouns 215
LXXXIV. Infinitives as Parts of “Double Objects.” As Modifiers of Verbs 216
LXXXV. Other Uses of Infinitives 220
LXXXVI. Summary of Infinitives 224
LXXXVII. Analysis of Sentences containing Infinitive Phrases 225
LXXXVIII. Participles 228
LXXXIX. Participles modifying Nouns 231
XC. Participial Phrases in the Predicate 234
XCI. Absolute Participial Phrases 237
XCII. Agreement of Participles. Other Words in _-ing_ 239
XCIII. Summary of Participles 243
XCIV. Analysis of Sentences 244
XCV. Anticipative Subject 247
XCVI. Elliptical Sentences 249
XCVII. Review of Analysis 252
General Review 257
Index 265
I. DECLARATIVE SENTENCES. SUBJECT AND PREDICATE
=1.= The purpose of English Grammar is to set forth the laws and customs governing the use of the English language. We study grammar in order that we may express our thoughts correctly.
A group of words, sometimes few, sometimes many, that completely expresses a thought is called a =sentence=. In speech one sentence is set off from another by a slight pause. On the written or printed page sentences are separated from each other by a slight space, while the first word of every sentence begins with a capital letter, and the last word is followed by some sort of terminal mark.
Most sentences are made to state, or declare, something, and hence are called =declarative= sentences. The following are declarative sentences:—
Molly danced up and down with delight.
My grandfather’s desk had the best light in the room.
=2.= Declarative sentences consist of two distinct parts. One part names the person, place, or thing which the sentence tells something about. This part is called the subject. The other part is the telling part. It is called the predicate.
In the first example _Molly_ is the subject, because it names the person about whom something is told. _Danced up and down with delight_ is the predicate, because it tells something about Molly.
What is the subject in the second example? the predicate? How do you know? What terminal mark follows a declarative sentence?
=Summary.=—A =sentence= is a group of words that completely expresses a thought.
A =declarative sentence= is one that states, or declares, something.
A declarative sentence is always followed by a period.
The =subject= of a sentence is the part which names that about which something is said.
The =predicate= of a sentence is the part which says something about the subject.
=Exercise 1.=—Tell why each of the following sentences is declarative. Select the subject, and tell why it is the subject. Select the predicate, and tell why it is the predicate. Tell all this in good language. Write it about one of the sentences, and be sure to underline the words that should be printed in italics. (See § 2.) Remember that all the words in the sentence belong either in the subject or in the predicate.
1. The village street was as quiet as the fields.
2. The great crashes of deep bass notes sent little thrills down our backs.
3. The cat could not find anything to eat except a thin, dried-up old mole.
4. Little gray-eyed Caroline went to live with her Aunt Fogg.
5. The traveler, being quite faint for lack of food, helped himself to the leg of a roast chicken.
6. Four is the right number for a pie.
7. A young girl of wonderful beauty lay asleep on the bed.
8. Mary shut the parlor door with a great slam.
9. Beauty, full of surprise but very happy, permitted the prince to lead her to his palace.
10. The magic song still rose from the vines outside the chamber window.
11. We cats are confined entirely to the society of each other.
12. The glassy water was sparkling with stars.
13. Locusts devoured the green things of the valley.
14. Not a living soul was to be seen.
15. My little half-starved cat grew white and plump and pretty.
=Exercise 2.=—Find five interesting declarative sentences in a story book. Write them with the subject underlined.
=Exercise 3.=—Write a fitting predicate for each of the following subjects:—
1. A boy with a fish pole
2. Abraham Lincoln
3. My last dime
4. The man on the ice wagon
5. Our old white rooster
6. Not a girl in the class
7. The battered old musket
8. The haymakers
9. The miner’s cabin
10. Moving picture shows
II. SIMPLE SUBJECT. NOUNS
=3.= It is evident from the sentences in Exercise 1, p. 10, that the subject of a sentence may consist of one word or of a group of words. In the sentence, “Peter was sitting by himself,” the subject is only the one word _Peter_. In the sentence, “A lovely old lady with white hair and a gentle, noble face came to the door,” the subject is a group of twelve words. What are they?
When the subject of a sentence is a group of words, there is always a base word in the group, which, more than any other word, names or designates the person, place, or thing about which something is said. This word is called the simple subject.
What is the simple subject in the sentence that tells who came to the door? What are the simple subjects in sentences 1, 2, 5, 7, 12, 14, and 15 in Exercise 1, p. 10?
=4.= Every word in a sentence is used for a particular purpose. Because words are used for different purposes they have been divided into classes called =parts of speech=.
In the sentences just studied the words _Peter_ and _lady_ are used to name certain persons. Name words are called nouns. A noun is a part of speech.
=5.= Not every noun is the name of a person. Many are names of places; as, _Oshkosh_, _pasture_, _corner_. Many more are names of things of all sorts; as, _peach_, _violet_, _bee_, _thimble_, _automobile_.
In the sentence about the lovely old lady, find three nouns that are names of things.
Any noun may be used as the simple subject of a sentence. Write sentences in which the nouns _hair_, _face_, and _door_ are so used.
=Summary.=—The =simple subject= of a sentence is the base word, or most important word, of the subject.
=Parts of speech= are the classes into which words are divided according to their use.
A =noun= is a name word.
A noun may be used as the simple subject of a sentence.
=Exercise.=—Write a list of all the nouns you can find in the following paragraphs. Tell what each noun is the name of. Point out five nouns that are simple subjects. What are their predicates?
1. At last Purun Dass went to England on a visit, and had to pay enormous sums to the priests when he came back to India; for even so high-caste a Brahmin as he lost caste by crossing the black sea. In London he met and talked with every one worth knowing—men whose names go all over the world—and saw a great deal more than he said. He was given honorary degrees by learned universities, and he made speeches and talked of Hindu social reform to English ladies in evening dress, till all London cried, “This is the most fascinating man we have ever met at dinner since cloths were first laid.”
2. Her godmother laughed, and touched Cinderella also with the wand; at which her wretched, threadbare jacket became stiff with gold, and sparkling with jewels; her woolen petticoat lengthened into a gown of sweeping satin, from underneath which peeped out her little feet, no longer bare, but covered with silk stockings and the prettiest glass slippers in the world. “Now, Cinderella, depart; but remember, if you stay one instant after midnight, your carriage will become a pumpkin, your coachman a rat, your horses mice, and your footmen lizards; while you yourself will be the little cinder wench you were an hour ago.”
III. CLASSIFICATION OF NOUNS
=6.= There are certain beings in the world that are called men, and certain other beings that are called horses, certain things that are called cities, and certain other things that are called rivers, hence the words _man_, _horse_, _city_, and _river_ are names, or nouns. Since these nouns belong in common to a great many individuals, we call them =common nouns=.
=7.= On the other hand, every man, every horse, every city, and every river is likely to have a _special_ name that distinguishes that
## particular man or horse or city or river from all others. _Cæsar_,
_Gypsy_, _Denver_, and _Penobscot_ are such names. Since these names belong to only one thing instead of to a class of things, we call them =proper nouns=.
=8.= A common noun is a name that belongs to a person, a place, or a thing because of its nature or qualities. A boat is entitled to the name _boat_ because it has the characteristics of boats. A proper noun is a name conferred or given by some person, as when a certain boat was named by its owners _Westernland_.
It sometimes happens that the same name is conferred upon several objects. There is more than one city named Madison, more than one dog named Shep. Still these names are proper names, because they are names conferred upon a special city and a special dog to distinguish them from other cities and other dogs.
A proper noun always begins with a capital letter.
=9.= When a word denoting relationship, like _father_, _mother_, _uncle_, is used as the name of a particular person, it is a proper noun and should therefore begin with a capital letter; as, “Did Father say that Grandma and Auntie are coming?”
=10.= A title like _Colonel_, _Judge_, _Duke_, is a proper noun when it is used to denote a special person; as, “Thousands had gathered to welcome the Colonel home.” When such a word is the name of a class of persons, it is a common noun; as, “A new uniform was designed for the colonels.”
When a title is followed by another name, as, _Colonel Bouck_, _Judge Gary_, the two words are considered as one proper noun. In the same way, any group of two or more words forming one special name may be considered as one proper noun; as, _Liberty Bell_, _Bay of Biscay_, _Mountains of the Moon_. In such groups of words, each important word begins with a capital letter.
NOTE.—Names of qualities, conditions, or actions are often called =abstract nouns=; as, _honesty_, _power_, _boyhood_, the _passing_ of the train, sound _thinking_, _suspense_.
=Summary.=—A =common noun= is a noun that belongs in common to each one of a class of persons, places, or things.
A =proper noun= is a name that has been conferred upon a particular person, place, or thing.
Every proper noun should begin with a capital letter.
=Exercise.=—Select all the nouns in the following sentences, and tell whether they are common or proper nouns. Give your reason in each case. Account for the capitalization.
1. The Bermudas are a cluster of small islands, lying as far south as Charleston, as far east as Nova Scotia.
2. Hotel Hamilton is a large, commodious building with many pillars and broad verandas.
3. The _Tenedos_ is lying off Grassy Bay, making herself fine to receive the Princess Louise, and her jolly tars are in high spirits.
4. On the Sunday of the christening, Mrs. Howe and her children watched the merrymaking in Poverty Lane from a second story window.
5. Where was Prospero’s cell? Where slept the fair Miranda? Upon what bank sat Ferdinand when Ariel sang?
6. The Duluth High School is a fine structure built of red sandstone.
7. The _Deliverance_ was a ship of eighty tons.
8. Old Lobo, or the King, as the Mexicans called him, was the gigantic leader of a remarkable pack of gray wolves, that had ravaged the Currumpaw Valley for a number of years.
9. About this time I met with an odd volume of the _Spectator_.
10.
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night Sailed off in a wooden shoe.
11. Let us all go to the station Monday to meet Uncle.
12.
The cows were coming one by one; Brindle, Ebony, Speckle, and Bess, Shaking their horns in the evening wind.
13. Gunpowder had been a favorite steed of his master’s, the choleric Van Ripper, who was a furious rider.
14. Upstream, at the bend of the sluggish pool round the Peace Rock, stood Hathi, the wild elephant, with his sons, gaunt and gray in the moonlight.
15. In his eighth year Charles Lamb entered Christ’s Hospital, a famous school in London.
It is evident from this exercise that several different sorts of things, as hotels, streets, books, and ships, may have special names conferred upon them. Think of ten other things that may have special names, and write two names for each one.
IV. VERBS
=11.= Just as the subject of a sentence may consist of only one word, so may the predicate. Hence it is that a declarative sentence may contain only two words, one being the subject and the other the predicate; as in the sentence, “Water runs.” Here the noun _water_ names the thing about which something is told, and the word _runs_ tells something about water.
=12.= In every predicate, no matter how long it is, there is always one word, or a little group of words, which does more of the telling than all the rest of the predicate. In fact, without this word or group of words, there would be no statement at all. In the sentence, “A red sash with fringes of gold wraps his waist several times,” the predicate consists of five words, but the one word that counts for most in making the statement is the word _wraps_. This word is called a verb. A verb is a part of speech.
A verb, being the essential part of a predicate, is called the =simple predicate=.
=13.= Sometimes a verb consists of two, or three, or even four words. What is the verb in each of the following sentences?—
All the cherries had been picked from the trees near the house.
The watchman on the roof was listening for the first sounds of day.
A tall, dark figure might have been seen at the end of the avenue.
=14.= When the verb in a given sentence has been found, the subject may be discovered by asking the question formed by placing the word _who_ or _what_ before the verb. For example, in the sentence, “The parrot’s story, with the various pauses and interruptions, occupied a good deal of time,” _occupied_ is the verb because it is the telling word. Asking the question _what occupied_? we get the answer, _the parrot’s story, with the various pauses and interruptions_, hence this group of words is the subject. What is the simple subject?
=15.= In grammar we often use the word _assertion_ instead of _statement_, and the word _assert_ instead of _make a statement_.
=Summary.=—A =verb= is an asserting word.
A verb may consist of one word, two, three, or four words, but never of more than four words.
A verb is the necessary part of every predicate, hence it is called the =simple predicate=.
To find the subject of a verb, ask the question made by using the word _who_ or _what_ before the verb.
=Exercise.=—Divide the following sentences into subject and predicate. Select the predicate verb, and tell why it is a verb. Find the simple subject of each sentence. Tell what part of speech it is, and why.
1. The procession moved from the palace to the church with great pomp.
2. The blue eyes of the Greek sparkled.
3. The magnificent buildings of the hospital stand on level land near the river.
4. The gentle young bride was frightened by the silent, mysterious ways of the old Indian.
5.
The poorest twig on the elm tree Was ridged inch deep with pearl.
6. The great hall of the palace was illuminated with a thousand lamps.
7. His anvil makes no music on Sunday.
8. The raccoon’s story was received with general approbation.
9. This old hunter must have told many tales.
10. Our conference under the peepul tree had been growing noisier and noisier.
11. One great name can make a country great.
12. The camels slept.
13. No European could have made five miles a day over the ice rubbish and the sharp-edged drifts.
14. The cows should have been milked before sundown.
15.
The deep waters of the bay Stir with the breath of hurrying day.
16. Wully could not have imagined any greater being than his master.
17. Everything out of doors was sheathed in silver mail.
18. The duck mother would have liked the eel’s head herself.
In sentence 18 is _herself_ in the subject or in the predicate?
V. PRONOUNS
=16.= When a person makes an assertion about himself he uses for the subject of his sentence, not his name, but the word _I_ instead. Will Dunlap does not say, “Will Dunlap saw a flock of wild geese this morning, and heard them too.” He says, “I saw a flock of wild geese this morning, and heard them too.” The word _I_, which is used instead of a name, or noun, is called a =pronoun=. A pronoun is a part of speech.
What pronoun besides _I_ do you find in the sentence quoted? For what noun is it used?
=17.= Pronouns are used a good deal, especially in conversation, for often instead of using the name of the person we are speaking to, we use the pronoun _you_; and in speaking _of_ persons, we use, provided their names are already known to our listeners, the pronouns _he_, _she_, or _they_.
=Summary.=—A =pronoun= is a word used instead of a noun.
A pronoun can be the subject of a sentence.
By the use of pronouns we avoid the repetition of nouns and the use of clumsy expressions.
=Exercise.=—In the following conversation select all the pronouns. Rewrite a portion of the conversation, using the nouns that the pronouns stand for. In changing pronouns to nouns it is sometimes necessary to make a change in the verb also. After using nouns for pronouns, tell what you think about the usefulness of pronouns.
“What do you think, Tirzah? I am going away.”
Tirzah dropped her hands with amazement.
“Going away! When? Where? For what?”