Part 2
Judah laughed, then said, “Three questions, all in a breath. What a body you are!” Next instant he became serious. “You know the law requires me to follow some occupation. Our good father set me an example. Even you would despise me if I spent in idleness the results of his industry and knowledge. I am going to Rome.”
“Oh, I will go with you.”
“You must stay with Mother. If both of us leave her, she will die.”
The brightness faded from her face.
“Ah, yes, yes! But—must you go? Here in Jerusalem you can learn all that is needed to be a merchant—if that is what you are thinking of.”
“But that is not what I am thinking of. The law does not require the son to be what the father was.”
“What else can you be?”
“A soldier,” he replied, with a certain pride of voice.
Tears came into her eyes.
“You will be killed.”
“If God’s will, be it so. But, Tirzah, the soldiers are not all killed.”
She threw her arms around his neck, as if to hold him back.
“We are so happy! Stay at home, my brother.”
“Home cannot always be what it is. You yourself will be going away before long.”
“Never!”
He smiled at her earnestness.
“A prince will come soon and claim my Tirzah, and ride away with her, to be the light of another house.”
She answered with sobs.
“War is a trade,” he continued, more soberly. “To learn it thoroughly, one must go to school, and there is no school like a Roman camp.”
—LEW WALLACE.
VI. COMPOUND SUBJECT AND COMPOUND PREDICATE
=18.= It frequently happens that a person performs several actions at the same time, and that all of them are worth telling. In such a case we do not make several separate sentences, but one sentence with several predicates; as, “I looked at my plate and winked back the tears.” Here we have two predicate verbs, _looked_ and _winked_, hence two assertions. In such a sentence we say that there is a =compound predicate=.
=19.= The compound predicate is used also when we tell of a number of
## actions performed in succession by one subject; as, “Father Wolf woke up
from his day’s rest, scratched himself, yawned, and spread out his paws one after the other to get rid of the sleepy feeling in the tips.” How many predicates are there in this sentence? What mark separates them? Two or more predicates in succession, having the same subject, form what is called a =series=. Words or groups of words in a series are separated from each other by the comma unless some joining word is used; but when only the last two of a series are joined by some word, the comma is used before this word.
=20.= We frequently wish to make the same assertion about several persons or things, but we do not make several sentences, repeating the predicate each time, for that would be tedious. Instead, we make one sentence with several subjects; as, “The fresh fruit and milk and the slices of cold chicken looked very nice.” This sentence has three distinct subjects. What are they? In such a sentence we say that there is a =compound subject=. Why is no comma used in this sentence?
=Summary.=—A =compound subject= is one that consists of two or more distinct subjects united into one.
A =compound predicate= is one that consists of two or more distinct predicates united into one.
Two parts of a compound predicate are separated from each other by a comma unless they are very short. When there are more than two parts, and the last two are joined by some such word as _and_, a comma is placed after each part, even before the joining word.
When a compound subject consists of more than two parts, a comma is placed after each part, unless all the parts are joined by some word.
Any sentence may have a compound subject, or a compound predicate, or both.
=Exercise.=—Tell why the following sentences are declarative. Tell whether each has a compound subject, or a compound predicate, or both. Write each sentence, and draw a vertical line between subject and predicate. Underline the simple subjects, and tell what part of speech they are. Underline also the simple predicates, or predicate verbs. Account for the punctuation.
1. The oars dipped, arose, poised a moment, then dipped again, with winglike action, and in perfect time.
2. The eyes and mouths of the auditors opened wide.
3. This poor child became the scapegoat of the house, and was blamed for everything.
4. The four cane-seated chairs, the walnut table, the haircloth sofa, and the little stand always spoke to me of my childhood days.
5. She took the key bravely, but opened with a trembling hand the door of the little room.
6. Such timber and such workmanship don’t come together often in houses built nowadays.
7. Vast crowds of spectators lined the way, or gazed upon the scene from the housetops.
8. The rider then put his foot upon the camel’s slender neck, and stepped upon the sand.
9. The laborers paused, sat up, wrung the water from their hands, and returned the salutation.
10. The statue of the Indian chief or the soldiers’ monument in the public square was given to the city by one of the pioneers.
11. Spruce bachelors looked sidelong at the pretty maidens, and fancied that the Sabbath sunshine made them prettier than on week days.
12. Grandmothers, mothers, and aunts sat across the end of the hall.
13. He brought a carpet or square rug from the litter, and covered the floor of the tent on the side from the sun.
14. Children with bright faces tripped merrily beside their parents, or mimicked a graver gait in the conscious dignity of their Sunday clothes.
VII. TRANSPOSED SUBJECT AND PREDICATE
=21.= The sentences studied thus far have been arranged so that the subject comes first, then the predicate. This is called the =natural order=. Sometimes, for the sake of emphasis, we reverse this order, as in the sentence, “In a long shed behind the church stood a score of wagons and chaises and carryalls.” This is called the =transposed order=.
Sometimes, for the sake of a pleasing arrangement, we put only a portion of the predicate before the subject, as in the sentence, “Over the highest peaks a vulture sailed on broad wings into widening circles.” Here the subject is very short and the predicate very long. The sentence balances better with a portion of the predicate coming first. This also is a case of transposed order.
=Summary.=—The =natural= order in a sentence is first the subject and then the predicate.
When the words of a sentence are not in their natural order, we say that the sentence is =transposed=.
=Exercise 1.=—Rearrange the following sentences so that they will be in the natural order, then proceed as you did with the sentences in the exercise on p. 21. Tell in each case whether you like the natural or the transposed order better, and why.
1. Around him, within hand’s reach, lie osier boxes full of almonds, grapes, figs, and pomegranates.
2. This challenge Fortunatus accepted.
3. On traveled the lady and the bull through many dreadful forests and lonely wastes.
4. On that first Christmas morning in their own home, the children found their gifts in little piles on two of the parlor chairs.
5. Through the wide nostrils the camel drank the wind in great draughts.
6. Out of the wide hall could be heard in the stillness the old clock.
7. At full speed a genuine Syrian dromedary overtakes the ordinary winds.
8. Very hard Johnny worked on the house.
9. “Come in,” said a warm, comfortable voice on the other side of the door.
10.
Down will come Baby, Bough, cradle, and all.
11. In the garret meet together all the broken-down chairs of the household, all the spavined tables, all the seedy hats, all the intoxicated-looking boots, all the split walking sticks that have retired from business, “weary with the march of life.”
Account for the commas in sentences 10 and 11.
=Exercise 2.=—Change the following sentences to the transposed order. Tell why you like them better so.
1. Pussy walked along with a slow and deliberate gait directly behind my sister and me.
2. A red rose, a yellow rose, a woodbine, and a clematis grew up the four walls.
3. The roll of the drum was hushed at the old man’s word and outstretched arm.
4. A mat of long, uncombed hair hangs over his eyes and face, and down his back.
5. The whole carpet came out right on my head.
6. A little rabbit sat on a bank one morning.
7. Daylight and safety were on the other side of that door.
8. The bird flew on and on, up the steep mountain.
9. A very amusing thing in this story comes now.
10. The remains of a great elephant have been found in the curious potholes near Cohoes, New York.
VIII. INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES
=22.= Most of the sentences in books are declarative sentences, written to make statements, but in speech we frequently make use of another kind of sentence, one that asks a question; as, “Do you know how to tell a sheep’s age?” This is called an =interrogative= sentence.
=23.= The interrogative sentence, “What dwarfs made that armor?” is in the natural order, but this is not the usual order in interrogative sentences. In the sentence, “Do you know how to tell a sheep’s age?” we find first a part of the verb, then the subject, then the other part of the verb and the rest of the predicate. How would this sentence read if it were in the natural order? Would it then be an interrogative sentence?
NOTE.—Since an interrogative sentence does not make a statement, it may seem strange to define the verb in such a sentence as an asserting word, but in making definitions we must think of the fundamental nature and the typical use of what we are defining. The primary office of the verb is to assert, as in declarative sentences; hence, we define the verb as an asserting word, though it may also be used in asking questions.
=Summary.=—An =interrogative sentence= is one that asks a question.
An interrogative sentence is usually in the transposed order, and is always followed by a question mark.
=Exercise.=—Tell whether the following sentences are in the natural or the transposed order. Put into the natural order those which are transposed. Divide each sentence into subject and predicate. Select the simple subject and the predicate verb, or simple predicate.
1. Did you ever hear of a cat’s playing hide and seek?
2. What became of you after the Princess’s death?
3. Will no other diet serve you but poor Jack?
4. Which flower does your mother like best?
5. What harm can a naked frog do us?
6. Will the town crier tell us of an auction, or of a lost pocket-book, or of a show of beautiful wax figures, or of some monstrous beast more horrible than any in the caravan?
7. Why did no smile of welcome brighten upon his face?
8. What did Peterson-Sahib mean by the elephant dance?
9. How many people have ever come to know a wild animal?
10. What important business made you late to dinner?
11. What plant we in this apple tree?
12. What other man would have discovered so many virtues under so mean a dress?
13. What do people fish for in this country?
14.
Does that star-spangled banner yet wave O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave?
15. Where did you get your eyes so blue?
16. Who will exchange old lamps for new ones?
17. What makes your cheek like a warm, white rose?
IX. ADJECTIVES
=24.= From the sentence, “The road led us to a gate, and that to a dooryard and a house,” we get a picture, but it is neither definite nor attractive. Contrast it with the picture that we get from this sentence, “The pleasant, elm-shaded road led us to a rustic gate, and that to a green dooryard, and a long, low, brown house.” The difference is caused by the descriptive words in the second sentence. Which words describe the road? the gate? the dooryard? the house?
These descriptive words go with nouns, and describe the object named by the noun. We call them =adjectives=. An adjective is a part of speech.
Adjectives are said to =modify= the nouns they go with, and are called =modifiers=.
=25.= Most adjectives describe objects by telling size, shape, color, texture, or other qualities. A few adjectives tell number or amount; as, _five_ minutes, _much_ patience. A few merely point out; as, _this_ meadow, _next_ Christmas. The words _a_, _an_, and _the_ are adjectives.
=26.= When several adjectives modify the same noun, they form a series, and are usually separated from each other by commas; as, “A hollow, booming, ominous cry rang out suddenly, and startled the dark edges of the forest.” In such a sentence as this, “Four little old French ladies rose to dance the minuet,” no commas should be used, because the adjectives modify more than the noun _ladies_. _Four_ modifies _little old French ladies_; _little_ modifies _old French ladies_; _old_ modifies _French ladies_; and _French_ modifies _ladies_.
=27.= Sometimes adjectives modify a pronoun instead of a noun, as in the sentence, “Tom missed the word, and I, happy and triumphant, took his place at the head.” How do we know that the adjectives _happy_ and _triumphant_ modify the pronoun _I_?
=Summary.=—An =adjective= is a word used to point out or describe an object and modify a noun or a pronoun.
Adjectives usually precede the nouns they modify but follow the pronouns.
When several adjectives modify a single noun, they are separated by commas.
A =modifier= is a word or a group of words that goes with another word to affect its meaning.
=Exercise 1.=—Select all the adjectives in the following sentences, and tell what they modify. Account for the punctuation.
1. On another side stood an old piano, a tinkling, rattling, merrymaking old piano, played by a young lady with a melancholy smile.
2. In the dark valley that ran down to a little river, Father Wolf heard the dry, angry, snarly, singsong whine of a tiger.
3. A small girl, with twinkling eyes and a merry face, got up and made her way to the front.
4. Only loving fingers could have taken those tiny, even stitches.
5. Charles carried water for the circus men, while I, scornful and lazy but envious, sat on the fence and watched him.
6. Mammy Tittleback is a splendid, great tortoise-shell cat.
7. I found myself sinking into some horrible, soft, slimy, sticky substance.
8. Few ships come to Rivermouth now.
9. Cæsar has one of the finest, deepest-toned voices I ever heard.
10. You can speak and smile cheerfully while you are enjoying every comfort of a snug, warm fireside, but you should not expect us, hungry, wet, and cold, to be in the same cheerful mood.
11. Suddenly the church clock tolled a deep, dull, hollow, melancholy “one.”
12. The next best thing to cold potato and cream is cold roast chicken, and occasionally I found a good fat drumstick or a curling neck from whose corrugated bones I nibbled savory morsels.
=Exercise 2.=—Write sentences using the following words as adjectives. Make your sentences such that they reveal the meaning of the adjectives.
awkward brilliant clammy false glassy graceful greedy huge mild moist pathetic shaggy slight sly soggy
=Exercise 3.=—Write sentences containing the following nouns, each modified by two or more adjectives:—
cabbage carpet cloud deed garden grapes hand hat machine mill pupil room ship story teacher
=28.= In the following sentences, what word describes the statue? the bureau? the lamp? the rings?
A bronze statue of Benjamin Franklin stood in Lafayette Park.
The mahogany bureau contained a desk with many drawers and pigeon holes.
We grew tired of the gorgeousness of our parlor lamp.
Indians of both sexes are fond of bracelets, necklaces, and finger rings.
These four descriptive words are name words, hence by nature they are nouns; but in these sentences they are used as adjectives, and should therefore be called adjectives.
=Exercise 4.=—Write sentences in which the following nouns are used as adjectives:—
silver, copper, tin, iron, steel.
maple, oak, pine, hickory, cedar.
kitchen, hall, cellar, roof, library.
hand, head, foot, cheek, neck.
Think of ten other nouns that may be used as adjectives.
X. ADVERBS
=29.= In the sentence, “The donkey ate an armful of green grass,” we are told what action the donkey performed, but we are not told the manner in which he performed the action. Very often manner is worth telling, as in the sentence, “The donkey ate leisurely an armful of green grass.”
Since the word _leisurely_ tells how the donkey ate, it must go with the word _ate_. We say of it what we said of adjectives, that it _modifies_ the word it goes with. Since it modifies a verb, it is different from any part of speech that we have studied before. We call it an =adverb=.
=30.= The great difference between adjectives and adverbs is this, that the adjective modifies a noun or a pronoun, and the adverb usually modifies a verb. Adjectives describe objects, which are named by nouns, and adverbs usually describe actions, which are asserted by verbs.
=31.= Not all adverbs tell manner. They frequently tell time, place, direction, degree, or other circumstances; as in these sentences:—
_Now_ the cow would be eating in one place, and _then_ she would walk to another.
_Here_ and _there_ a snag lifted its nose out of the water like a shark.
For weeks his ship sailed _onward_ over a lonely ocean.
Mother’s sudden cry frightened me _terribly_.
=32.= It was pointed out in Lesson IX that adjectives frequently tell some quality of an object. Sometimes we wish to tell in what degree this quality is possessed, as in the expressions, _a very tall man_, _an exceedingly hot day_, _too ripe fruit_. Here the words _very_, _exceedingly_, and _too_ go with the adjectives _tall_, _hot_, and _ripe_ to denote degree. Such words are said to modify the adjectives they go with. Words that modify adjectives are also called adverbs.
NOTE.—A group of words like _very tall_ and _exceedingly hot_ may be called an =adjective element=. Its base word is an adjective, modified by an adverb. It is the whole element, or group of words, that modifies the noun.
Adverbs of degree may modify adverbs as well as adjectives, as in the sentences, “The fox ran very swiftly,” “You speak too rapidly.”
=Summary.=—An =adverb= is a word that modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.
Adverbs usually tell time, place, manner, direction, or degree.
Unless a sentence is transposed, the adverb should be as near as possible to the word it modifies.
Adverbs in a series are separated from each other by commas.
=Exercise 1.=—Select all the adverbs in the following sentences. Tell what each adverb modifies, and what it denotes.
1. People with lanterns rushed hither and thither.
2. The island is separated from the mainland by a scarcely perceptible creek.
3.
And so the teacher turned him out, And still he lingered near, And waited patiently about Till Mary did appear.
4. Faintly, in gentle whiffs, the lilies on the low marble shelf threw off their delicate fragrance.
5. Quackalina was sitting happily among the reeds with her dear ones under her wings, while Sir Sooty waddled proudly around her.
6. In youth the tulip tree has a trunk peculiarly smooth.
7. On one occasion Gypsy put in her head, and lapped up six custard pies that had been placed by the casement to cool.
8. No wild animals were ever trained by the ancients.
9. The paper was passed skillfully from desk to desk until it finally reached my hands.
10. Messua’s husband had some remarkably fine buffaloes that worried him exceedingly.
11. The charcoal burners went off very valiantly in single file.
12. Sometimes my head almost aches with the variety of my knowledge.
13. Knots of gossips lingered here and there near the place.
14. This talk amused me greatly, but it went in at one ear and out at the other.
15. My father invested his money so securely in the banking business that he was never able to get any of it out again.
16. Yonder I shall sit down and get knowledge.
17. Then he would crawl forward inch by inch, and wait till the seal came up to breathe.
18. No one can work well without sleep.
19. This jackal was peculiarly low, a cleaner-up of village rubbish heaps, desperately timid, or wildly bold, everlastingly hungry, and full of cunning that never did him any good.
20. The Black Panther raised his head and yawned—elaborately, carefully, and ostentatiously.
Account for the commas in the last sentence.
=Exercise 2.=—Write sentences containing adverbs of manner modifying the following verbs:—
comes goes plays reads sings skates speaks studies walks works
=Exercise 3.=—Write sentences containing the following adverbs:—
upward, downward, forward, backward, headlong, north, southward.
everywhere, nowhere, somewhere, anywhere.
seldom, often, always, sometimes, forever.
perfectly, unusually, unspeakably, positively, miserably.
Use the last five adverbs to modify adjectives or adverbs. What will they denote when so used?
=Exercise 4.=—Form adverbs from the following adjectives:—
careless dreary firm gentle hasty noble painful sharp slow wide
What part of speech are the words _chilly_, _deadly_, _holy_, _kindly_, _lively_, _lovely_? Use them in sentences to find out.
XI. PHRASES. ANALYSIS OF SENTENCES
=33.= We cannot always describe or point out objects as fully as we wish by means of adjectives, and so we use another sort of modifier, which is not a single word, but a group of words. In the sentence, “Broad, flat fields without fences stretch in every direction,” we describe the fields by the two adjectives _broad_ and _flat_, and by the group of words, _without fences_. Thus the noun _fields_ has three modifiers, and they are very well placed, two of them coming before the noun, and one of them after it.
In the group of words _without fences_, the two words are closely related to each other. In fact, neither of them could be in the sentence at all without the other. Such a group of related words is called a =phrase=. When a phrase modifies a noun, we say it is an =adjective phrase=.
=34.= In the same sentence there is another phrase, _in every direction_, telling where the fields stretch. Since this phrase modifies the verb, it performs the same office as an adverb, and we therefore call it an =adverbial phrase=.
=35.= Phrases never consist of fewer than two words, and they may consist of a good many, for it is possible to have one or more phrases within a phrase. In the sentence, “I was born in a stable on the outskirts of a small town in Maine,” the verb _was born_ is modified by a long phrase, _in a stable on the outskirts of a small town in Maine_. The noun _stable_ in this phrase is modified by the phrase _on the outskirts of a small town in Maine_. The noun _outskirts_ in this second phrase is modified by the phrase _of a small town in Maine_. The noun _town_ in this third phrase is modified by the fourth phrase, _in Maine_.