Part 13
=Exercise 2.=—Change the following sentences from direct to indirect discourse:—
1. Longfellow said, “Life is real, life is earnest.”
2. John wrote, “I know that Shep will give you a warm welcome when you come.”
3. The lawyer demanded, “Mr. Christoff, what have you done with the company’s books?”
4. The Bible says, “Give to him that asketh.”
5. Patrick Henry asked, “When shall we be stronger?”
6. The eloquent speaker said, “The declaration of our independence will strengthen us at home, and give us character abroad.”
7. The great orator declared, “If we fail, it can be no worse for us. But we shall not fail. The cause will raise up armies.”
8. He admitted, “We may not live to the time when this declaration shall be made good.”
9. Then he uttered this prophecy: “This declaration must cost treasure, and it may cost blood; but it will stand, and it will richly compensate for both.”
10. Every listener was moved when the statesman said, “If it be the pleasure of Heaven that my country shall require the poor offering of my life, the victim shall be ready at the appointed hour of sacrifice.”
11. His closing words were these: “All that I have, and all that I am, and all that I hope, in this life, I am now ready here to stake upon it; and I leave off as I began, that live or die, survive or perish, I am for the declaration.”
=Exercise 3.=—Make the following sentences clear by changing them from indirect to direct discourse:—
1. The teacher told Mrs. Gray that her little girl lost the report she had given her.
2. Jennie told Ada that her mother was willing that she should go to the concert with her and her brother.
3. Bertrand told George that he ought to sell his sailboat and buy his launch.
4. The teachers asked the young men why they had made such a disturbance in the corridor when they had forbidden them to congregate there.
LXIII. AGREEMENT OF VERB AND SUBJECT. COLLECTIVE NOUNS
=259.= A verb must agree with its subject in number, and since the verb changes its form sometimes to denote number, we must be careful to employ the correct form. We should say, “The rose _is_ red, the roses _are_ red; the wind _does_ blow, the winds _do_ blow; the bird _flies_, the birds _fly_.”
=260.= This agreement of the subject and the verb is a simple matter in English, for in our language verbs have the same form in the singular and the plural, except in four cases:—
(1) The verb _be_, which changes its form considerably to indicate number, in the present and past tenses. See page 128.
(2) Any verb in the second person conjugated in the solemn style. See page 128.
(3) Any verb in the third person of the present tense, indicative mode; as, he _speaks_, they _speak_.
(4) Any verb in the third person of the present perfect indicative; as, he _has_ spoken, they _have_ spoken.
=261.= As _don’t_ is a contraction of _do not_, it should be used only with a plural subject, or with the singular pronouns _I_ and _you_. We say, “I _don’t_ know,” “You _don’t_ know,” “They _don’t_ know,” but “He _doesn’t_ know,” “She _doesn’t_ know,” “It _doesn’t_ come.”
=262.= A compound subject composed of two or more singular nouns should have a plural verb when the parts are joined by any conjunction but _or_ or _nor_. We say, “Either John or Byron _is_ her cousin,” and “Both John and Joe _are_ her cousins.”
When two singular subjects refer to one person, the verb, of course, should be singular. We say, “The secretary and treasurer _was_ absent.”
=263.= When a singular noun is modified by the limiting adjective _each_, _every_, _either_, _neither_, _any_, or _no_, and used as subject of a clause, its verb must be singular; as, “Each flower _is_ a thing of beauty,” “No man _lives_ but loves something.”
In declarative sentences this rule is not likely to be violated, but it is often violated in interrogative sentences, where the verb precedes the subject. We should say, “_Has_ either book been returned?” “_Is_ either of you willing to stay?” “_Was_ neither of the speakers on time?”
=264.= There is a class of nouns like _flock_, _army_, _herd_, _company_, which mean a collection of individuals, and so seem to be plural; but since the individuals forming the collection are thought of as one body, these nouns are in reality singular. They are =collective nouns=.
=265.= The verb of which a collective noun is subject is a singular verb, and the pronoun that stands for a collective noun is the neuter singular pronoun _it_. We say, “The company _is_ on _its_ way to the Philippines.”
NOTE.—When a collective noun is plural in meaning, that is, when the individuals are thought of as acting separately, it takes a plural verb; as, “The faculty _are_ not going to trouble _their_ heads about the kind of shoes we wear.”
=Summary.=—A verb must agree with its subject in person and in number.
A =collective= noun is one that names a group of individuals considered as one body.
A collective noun is usually singular and neuter.
=Exercise 1.=—If you do not already know, find out from the dictionary to what sort of individuals each of these collective nouns is applied.
bevy choir committee constellation covey crew drove family fleet flock gang hive horde jury mob orchestra regiment swarm tribe troop
=Exercise 2.=—Find all the collective nouns in these sentences. Find evidence as to whether they are singular or plural. If they are plural, tell why. Give the reason for the number of each verb.
1. Forty wolves make a very fair pack indeed.
2. At the edge of the thicket was a straggling colony of low blueberry bushes.
3. Here, in course of days, there accumulated a shining cluster of six large white eggs.
4. At last cousin Eben came with a double sleigh and the team of prancing grays, and then the whole family was off for Christmas dinner at Aunt Mary’s.
5. Has either of the critics ever heard the new organ?
6. No man in his senses takes such a risk.
7. A school of porpoises were ducking and tearing through the water.
8. Through the ancient forest, which was a mixed growth of cedar, water ash, black poplar, and maple, with here and there a group of hemlocks on a knoll, the light drained down confusedly.
9. The opinions of this junto were completely controlled by Nicholas Vedder.
10. Is either of you going up the river in the houseboat?
11. This band of crows numbered about two hundred.
12. Each year the old crow came with his troop, and for about six weeks took up his abode on the hill.
13. Here and there a band of chimney sweeps were staring in stupid wonder at the miracle of a showman’s box.
14. Butler tells of an Indian tribe in the Far North that was all but exterminated by a feud over a dog.
15. On a level spot was a company of odd-looking personages playing at ninepins.
16. Every word on his papers was correctly spelled.
17. The rest of the horses swept dutifully into line, and the herd was off.
LXIV. REVIEW OF VERBS: PARSING
=266.= Study again Lessons XXIII-XXVII, XLIX-LXIII. Make an outline of verbs, having the following main topics:—
(1) Classification.
(2) Properties.
(3) Conjugation.
(4) Principal Parts.
(5) Auxiliaries.
(6) Agreement.
Fill in the subtopics and recite in detail from your outline with illustrations of every point.
=Exercise.=—Parse the verbs in the following sentences according to the outline on p. 150:—
1. If you have a Halloween party, shall you invite the Cromers?
2. At first the chemist said he couldn’t do anything about it; but when Agamemnon said they would pay in gold if he would only go, he packed up his bottles in a leather case, and went back with the Peterkins.
3.
Faith’s journeys end is welcome to the weary, And heaven, the heart’s true home, will come at last.
4. We are going to have a tile well, and Mr. Jones is going to oversee the men who dig it.
5. This woodchuck was neither handsome nor interesting, but he knew how to take care of himself.
6. Sheep are usually kept in flocks of from one thousand to three thousand under one or more shepherds.
7. Rabbits telegraph each other by thumping on the ground with their hind feet.
8. Lady Moon, Lady Moon, where are you roving?
9.
Breast the wave, Christian, when it is strongest. Watch for day, Christian, when the night’s longest.
10. Even so did men talk round the king’s cages at Oodeypore.
11. Your Uncle Nathan and I used to be called the bothering Bodleys, because we were always teasing to find out something.
12. The Peterkins had been so busy inside the house that they had not noticed the ceasing of the storm outside.
13. For thou, Lord, wilt give thy blessing unto the righteous, and with thy favorable kindness wilt thou defend him as with a shield.
14. My father’s, like every other young ladies’ school near a village, was very much disturbed by the attentions of the village young men.
15. If any man have a hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine and go into the mountains and seek that which goeth astray?
16. They were sitting round the breakfast table and wondering what they should do because the lady from Philadelphia had gone away.
LXV. CLASSIFICATION OF ADVERBS. SIMPLE ADVERBS
=267.= In Lesson X it was shown that an adverb modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. Select the adverbs in the following sentences, and tell what words they modify:—
We proceeded through a tract of country excessively wild and desolate.
People with lanterns rushed hither and thither.
John knew that he could spend a day very pleasantly in going over to that pasture.
All the adverbs in these sentences are called =simple adverbs= because they have but one office in the sentence,—they merely modify the word they go with.
=268.= In the sentence, “Perhaps my pony can carry the load,” the word _perhaps_ tells nothing whatever about the action of carrying, but rather serves to make the whole statement doubtful. Such a word is said to modify the whole sentence. Some other adverbs used in this way are _certainly_, _indeed_, _fortunately_, and _not_.
The common use of the adverb _not_ is to change an affirmative statement to a negative statement, as in the sentence, “I will not wear my heart upon my sleeve.”
=269.= The simple adverbs, _when_, _where_, _why_, _how_, _whence_, _whither_, are used in asking questions; as, “_When_ shall we be stronger?” “_Why_ do you answer me so?” Such adverbs modify the whole predicate. They are called =interrogative adverbs=.
NOTE.—_The_ is sometimes used as an adverb before comparatives; as, “_The_ more you have, _the_ more you want.”
=270.= When the meaning permits, adverbs may be compared in the same manner as adjectives; as, _fast_, _faster_, _fastest_; _pleasantly_, _more pleasantly_, _most pleasantly_; _fortunately_, _less fortunately_, _least fortunately_.
=Summary.=—A =simple adverb= is one that merely modifies the word or the group of words that it goes with.
Some simple adverbs, like _not_, _perhaps_, _certainly_, modify the whole sentence.
An =interrogative adverb= is a simple adverb that is used in asking a question.
Some adverbs may be compared.
=Exercise.=—Select all the simple adverbs in the following sentences, and tell what each modifies. In so far as you can, tell what each adverb denotes. (See Lesson X.)
1. How the huge breakers foam and fret!
2. People living by the sea are always more or less superstitious.
3. No one can work well without sleep.
4. Whence came that blessed mother love, so strong, so dauntless, so pure, and whither has it fled?
5. Where had the stone been before? Why did it come there? When would it go away?
6. Heaven is not reached at a single bound.
7. Luckily, poor Pepper was not seriously hurt.
8. Meanwhile Mrs. Peterkin was getting quite impatient for her coffee.
9. How do you like to go up in a swing, up in the air so blue?
10. Why should one hurry when days are long and calm and sweet?
11. You may lead a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink.
12. Presently a huge black bear poked his nose out of the bushes, and sniffed inquiringly.
13. How quickly we learn to claim as our own that in which we delight!
LXVI. CONJUNCTIVE ADVERBS
=271.= In Lesson XX we learned that a dependent clause is one that does not make sense when standing alone; also that such a clause sometimes has the office of an adverb, modifying a predicate, and sometimes that of an adjective, modifying a noun. It is, therefore, called an =adverbial clause= or an =adjective clause=.
Select and classify the dependent clauses in each of the following sentences:—
(_a_) Old Stony Phiz set out on a visit to the valley where he was born.
(_b_) When I first came to Rivermouth, I looked upon girls as rather tame company.
=272.= A dependent clause is usually introduced by some word which indicates that it is a dependent clause. In the clause _where he was born_, this introductory word is _where_. What is the introductory word in the clause in sentence (_b_)?
This introductory word does more than introduce the clause; it joins the clause to the word the clause modifies. What does _where_ join in (_a_)? What does the introductory word in (_b_) join?
But these words do more than join. _Where_ denotes place, and modifies the verb _was born_. Hence it is an adverb. What does _when_ denote? What does it modify?
Since these words have two uses, that of an adverb and that of a joining word, we call them =conjunctive adverbs=.
=Summary.=—A =conjunctive adverb= is one that introduces a clause, modifies some part of the clause, generally the predicate, and joins the clause to that part of the sentence which the clause modifies.
Some common conjunctive adverbs are _when_, _where_, _whence_, _whenever_, _wherever_, _while_, _why_, _how_. (See note, p. 177.)
An =adverbial clause= is a dependent clause that is used like an adverb.
An =adjective clause= is a dependent clause that is used like an adjective.
Both the adjective and the adverbial clause may be introduced by a conjunctive adverb.
=Exercise.=—Select all the conjunctive adverbs in the following sentences. Tell what clause they introduce, what they join, what they denote, and what they modify.
1. When his eyes got command of the dusk, he saw to his surprise that the den was empty.
2. Mr. Gathergold bethought himself of his native valley, and resolved to go back thither, and end his days where he was born.
3. The canals in Amsterdam are crossed by a great many drawbridges, and the people must sometimes wait while a ship or barge is passing.
4. Our lunch was only bread and tea and blueberries and cream, but do you remember how delicious it tasted that day when you came home from the circus as tired as a dog and as hungry as a bear?
5.
Whenever I cross the river On its bridge with wooden piers, Like the odor of brine from the ocean, Comes the thought of other years.
6. The reason why men succeed who mind their own business is because there is so little competition.
7.
The frugal snail, with forecast of repose, Carries his house with him where’er he goes.
8. When all the trees in the forest have the same number of leaves, then will all men be alike in their power and skill.
9.
While the breath’s in his mouth, he must bear without fail, In the name of the Empress the Overland Mail.
10.
Where’er our footsteps range, Comes the chilling breath of change, And the best of friends look strange When the purse is low.
11. The reason why men do not obey us is because they see the mud at the bottom of our eye.
12.
So shut your eyes while mother sings Of wonderful sights that be.
13. Chip answered me with a cheery little note or two whenever I spoke to him.
14.
My heart leaps up when I behold A rainbow in the sky.
LXVII. SUMMARY OF ADVERBS
=273.= We have learned,—
(1) That adverbs may be simple adverbs or conjunctive adverbs.
(2) That simple adverbs merely modify some word or group of words.
(3) That conjunctive adverbs modify, and at the same time introduce a dependent clause and join it to whatever the clause modifies.
(4) That one kind of simple adverb is the interrogative adverb, which is used in asking a question.
(5) That an adverb may modify a verb, an adjective, an adverb, a whole predicate, or even a whole statement.
(6) That adverbs may denote time, place, manner, degree, and direction.
(7) That some adverbs may be compared.
Give a good illustration of each point in this summary.
=274.= When we parse an adverb we should tell,—
(1) Its class as to use,—simple, interrogative, conjunctive.
(2) Its class as to meaning,—time, place, manner, etc.
(3) Its degree (if it admits of comparison).
(4) Its use, and what it modifies.
=Exercise.=—Parse each adverb in the following sentences:—
1. Virtue and intelligence will lead our country ever onward in her happy career.
2. Oh, why should the spirit of mortal be proud?
3. The man in the moon came down too soon.
4. Fortunately, what seemed to be a barrel of apples turned out to be an electric lamp.
5. The old horse cars rocked along scarcely faster than we could walk.
6. Calmly I await the hour when the summons comes for me.
7. Somewhere the birds are singing evermore.
8. I will lock the door most willingly, but I will not cover the bird.
9. Probably Frank was mightily relieved when he saw the mayor’s automobile.
10. Our side made a remarkably good score.
11. Where shall we sit in the new church?
LXVIII. COÖRDINATE CONJUNCTIONS
=275.= We have learned that such words as _and_, _but_, and _or_ are conjunctions. Their use is merely to join, and they may join either words, phrases, or clauses. Since they join like elements,—a word to a word, a phrase to a phrase, a clause to a clause, a sentence to a sentence, we call them =coördinate= conjunctions.
=276.= In the sentence, “Either the well was very deep or she fell very slowly,” the coördinate conjunction _or_, which joins two sentences, is preceded by the word _either_, which hints that _or_ is coming. When _either_ and _or_ are used in this way, they are called =correlatives=; that is, they are words related to each other. Other correlatives are _neither_, _nor_; _not only_, _but_; _both_, _and_. It is always the second word of these pairs that does the joining. The first merely tells the listener or reader what sort of sentence is to follow.
NOTE.—Frequently a coördinate conjunction has another word going with it to change or emphasize its meaning. In the sentence, “He is rich and yet he is not generous,” the word _yet_ going with _and_ changes its meaning to _but_. In the sentence, “He is poor, but still he is generous,” the word _still_ reinforces the meaning of _but_. Such a word associated with a conjunction may be said to be a part of the conjunction, that is, the two words together do the joining. In the same way the two words _not only_ form the correlative of _but_ or _but also_; as, “He is not only a teacher but also a student.” What does _but also_ join here?
=Summary.=—A =coördinate conjunction= is one that joins like elements. It is sometimes more than one word.
=Correlative coördinate conjunctions= are pairs of words, the second of which does the joining.
=Exercise.=—When we parse a coördinate conjunction we tell its class and what it joins. If it has a correlative, we state that fact. Parse the coördinate conjunctions in the following sentences:—
1. The writer who professes to care nothing for fame is probably deceiving himself, or else his liver is out of order.
2. Everybody took a holiday, and high and low, rich and poor, feasted and danced and sang, and got very mellow.
3. There was neither dust nor mud nor noise to annoy one.
4. The mahogany arm chair is very handsome, and the green plush rocker is very comfortable, but still I choose this little chair with the flowers painted on the back, that mother gave to me when I was only five.
5. On its southern side is an elevated walk, or terrace, very broad and handsome, and about half a mile long.
NOTE.—In the preceding sentence, try to discover under what circumstances an appositive is joined to the word it explains by _or_. Notice the punctuation. Make other sentences illustrating this use of _or_.
6. The road to Paradise is rough and thorny.
7. His chief amusements were gunning and fishing, or sauntering along the beach and through the myrtles.
8. Neither hare nor grouse was stirring in the brushy opens.
9. You know Mary always bangs things when she is cross, but I never could see what good it does.
10. When the two children went down to the river to play, they not only disobeyed their mothers, but they also ran away from school.
11. I never looked either neat or clean, though I had my daily bath and a generous allowance of clothes.
12. Over the tree tops and from the open spaces in the wood could be seen the first pallor of approaching day.
13. In deep snow the moose can neither flee nor fight.
14. They always put Mammy Tittleback in the carriage too; but before they had carried her far, she generally jumped out, and walked the rest of the way by their side.
15. These Spaniards wished to build ships and to get away; but they had neither knowledge nor tools nor iron nor forge nor tow nor resin nor rigging.
16.
He prayeth best who loveth best All things both great and small.
Tell the part of speech and use of _himself_, sentence 1, _high_, _low_ 2, _mellow_ 2, _when_ 4, _neat_ 11, _allowance_ 11, _pallor_ 12.
LXIX. SUBORDINATE CONJUNCTIONS
=277.= We have learned that a dependent clause is often used as an adverb to modify a predicate. When so used, it is joined to the predicate it modifies by some connecting word.
Sometimes this connecting word is a conjunctive adverb, as was pointed out in Lesson LXVI, but more often it is some other word, as in the following sentences:—
Sheep are such senseless creatures _that_ they are liable to be stampeded by the veriest trifle.
You cannot catch a muskrat _unless_ you put tar on his nose.
I love hens _because_ they are such good mothers.
What is the dependent clause in each of these sentences? What does it modify? What word joins it to that part of the sentence which it modifies?
These connecting words,—_that_, _unless_, and _because_,—are not adverbs, for they do not modify any word. They merely connect, hence they are conjunctions. Since they connect elements not alike, not equal in rank, they are called =subordinate conjunctions=.
=278.= There are many subordinate conjunctions. The most common are _after_, _although_, _as_, _because_, _before_, _for_, _if_, _in order that_, _lest_, _provided_, _since_, _so that_, _than_, _that_, _though_, _till_, and _unless_.