Part 6
If we wish to tell a quality or condition of the subject, we should use an adjective; as, “The oak leaves turned _brown_.” If we wish to tell the manner of an action, we should use an adverb; as, “The leaves turned _quickly_ this fall.”
=Exercise 1.=—Tell the part of speech of each italicized word in these sentences, and justify its use.
1. Mary dresses _neatly_ and always looks _charming_.
2. The children must keep _quiet_ to-night.
3. Stand _straight_ and breathe _deeply_.
4. Look at them _kindly_ and speak _gently_.
5. The old bishop looks _kind_ and _gentle_.
6. This pie tastes very _queer_.
7. Mother feels _uneasy_ if we are _out late_.
8. The boy seemed _nervous_ and felt _uneasily_ of his watch chain.
9. Poor oil made the lamp smell very _disagreeable_.
10. All the doors stood _open_.
11. The air grew _cold steadily_.
12. Keep the box _carefully_ till I return.
=Exercise 2.=—Select the right word for each of the following sentences, and give your reason in each case:—
1. The light is so poor that I cannot see the picture (_plain_ or _plainly_).
2. I am frightened when she speaks (_cross_ or _crossly_) to me.
3. Sit with me so that you can hear (_good_ or _well_).
4. Does he always deal (_honest_ or _honestly_) with you?
5. The miser died (_miserable_ or _miserably_).
6. You came so (_sudden_ or _suddenly_) that I was taken by surprise.
7. No wonder you fell, you move too (_quick_ or _quickly_).
8. How (_stylish_ or _stylishly_) she dresses.
9. I (_sure_ or _surely_) mailed the letter.
10. Next time I shall act more (_sensible_ or _sensibly_).
11. Money comes (_easy_ or _easily_) to him, and is soon gone.
12. I felt so (_bad_ or _badly_) that I cried.
13. I was ill yesterday, but I feel pretty (_good_ or _well_) this morning.
14. All my rose bushes look (_fine_ or _finely_).
XXVII. REVIEW OF VERBS
=93.= A =verb= is an asserting word.
A =transitive verb= is one that asserts action performed upon some person or thing.
A transitive verb is completed by a =direct object=.
The =direct object= of a transitive verb is a word or a group of words that completes the meaning of the verb and names the receiver of the
## action.
The =base word= of a =direct object= is usually a noun.
An =intransitive verb= is one that asserts, (1) being, or (2) action not performed upon any person or thing.
An =intransitive verb of action= needs no complement.
An =intransitive verb of being= is usually completed by a subjective complement.
A =subjective complement= is a word or a group of words that completes a verb and refers to the same person or thing as the subject.
A subjective complement denotes identity with the subject, or tells the class to which the subject belongs, or some quality of the subject.
The =base word= of a =subjective complement= may be a noun or an adjective.
=Exercise.=—Select and classify all the verbs in the following sentences. Tell the subject of each verb, and tell how each verb is completed or modified.
1. As soon as he saw the cat in the soap barrel, he set the lamp down on the cellar bottom, and laughed so that he could hardly move.
2. When night came, I felt still more lonesome.
3. Little Toomai shall become a great tracker.
4. The wind whistled around the low, unplastered chamber, but the beds were soft and warm, and the guests were ready for sleep.
5. The youngest daughter was the gentlest and most beautiful creature ever seen, and the pride of all the people in the land.
6. I am too stiff and sore from a terrible fall I have had, to write more than one line.
7. Next month, when the city had returned to its sunbaked quiet, the Hindu did a thing that no Englishman would have dreamed of doing; for, so far as the world’s affairs went, he died.
8. The knoll in the tamarack swamp was a haven of peace amid the fierce but furtive warfare of the wilderness.
9. Beauty rose by four o’clock every morning, lighted the fires, cleaned the house, and prepared the breakfast for the whole family.
10. More years sped swiftly and tranquilly away.
11. What a place the old market must have been in the days of Herod the Builder!
12. The lizard belonging to my mistress was a very beautiful creature.
13. The rocky walls are red with the scarlet of the geranium, aglow with the orange of the lantana, or they are hidden by the purple veil of the wild convolvulus. The dainty sweet alyssum clings to the rock in great patches, and the little rice plant lays its pink cheek against it lovingly.
14. The spring had been a trying season for the lank she-bear.
15. Right proud the baron was of his gallant steed.
16. There is the house with the gate red-barred.
17. The big male cuffed the cubs aside without ceremony, mounted the carcass with an air of lordship, glared about him, and suddenly with a snarl of wrath, fixed his eyes upon the green branches wherein the boy was concealed.
18. Rip Van Winkle was a kind neighbor and an obedient, hen-pecked husband.
19. The great error in Rip’s composition was an insuperable aversion to all kinds of profitable labor.
20. The same sweet clover smell is in the breeze.
21. David stooped down and piled the fagots in the hollow of his arm.
22. Gentle are the days when the year is young.
23. The winter sunshine on the fields seems full of rest.
24. I feel out of place under this roof.
25. Strips of snow still whitened the fields, but on the stumps were bluebirds, and they warbled of spring.
26. The great limb of the cedar snapped off, rolled over in the air, and lay on the ground like a huge animal.
XXVIII. NOUNS: NUMBER
=94.= When we wish a noun to denote more than one object, we often change its form slightly. _Man_ becomes _men_, _child_ becomes _children_, _river_ becomes _rivers_.
This change in the form of a noun by which it denotes one object or more than one is called =number=.
Number is said to be one of the =properties= of a noun.
=95.= When a noun denotes one object, it is said to be in the singular number; as, _lion_, _mouse_, _knife_.
When a noun denotes more than one object, it is said to be in the =plural= number; as, _lions_, _mice_, _knives_.
=96.= Most nouns form their plural by adding _s_ or _es_ to the singular; as, _key_, _keys_; _hand_, _hands_; _rope_, _ropes_; _mass_, _masses_; _fox_, _foxes_; _church_, _churches_; _bush_, _bushes_.
This is said to be the =regular= way of forming the plural. Why is it that some words add _es_ instead of _s?_
=97.= Nouns ending in _o_ preceded by a vowel form their plural by adding _s_; as, _folio_, _folios_; _cameo_, _cameos_.
Some nouns ending in _o_ preceded by a consonant add _es_, and others _s_; as, _potato_, _potatoes_; _mosquito_, _mosquitoes_; _solo_, _solos_; _piano_, _pianos_.
=98.= Some nouns form their plural =irregularly=.
(1) A few nouns change the vowel; as, _man_, _men_; _goose_, _geese_; _mouse_, _mice_; _foot_, _feet_; _tooth_, _teeth_.
(2) A few nouns add _en_; as, _ox, oxen_; _child, children_.
(3) Nouns ending in _y_, preceded by a consonant sound, change _y_ to _i_ and add _es_; as, _fly, flies_; _fairy, fairies_.
(4) Some nouns ending in _f_ or _fe_ change _f_ or _fe_ to _v_ and add _es_; as, _wolf_, _wolves_; _knife_, _knives_.
=99.= Some nouns have the same form in both the singular and the plural; as, _deer_, _grouse_, _salmon_.
=100.= Some nouns ending in _s_ look like plural nouns, but are regarded as singular; as, _news_, _athletics_, _gymnastics_.
=101.= Some nouns are used only in the plural; as, _scissors_, _pincers_, _thanks_.
=102.= Compound nouns form their plural in three different ways:—
(1) By adding _s_ to the last word; as, _forget-me-not_, _forget-me-nots_.
(2) By adding _s_ to the principal word; as, _son-in-law_, _sons-in-law_.
(3) By pluralizing both words; as, _manservant_, _menservants_.
=103.= When a title is used with one name, we may pluralize either the name or the title. We may say the _Misses Gray_ or the _Miss Grays_, the _Messrs. Greenwood_ or the _Mr. Greenwoods_.
When a title is used with more than one name, we pluralize the title. We say the _Misses Morgan and Adams_. The title _Mrs._ has no plural, so we must say _Mrs. Morgan and Mrs. Adams_.
=104.= Letters, signs, or figures form their plurals by adding an apostrophe and _s_; as, 6’s, i’s, _t_’s.
=105.= A few foreign nouns have kept their foreign plurals. Some of these in common use are _stratum_, _strata_; _alumnus_, _alumni_; _axis_, _axes_.
=106.= Some nouns have two plurals used with slightly different meanings; as, _penny_ has _pennies_ and _pence_; _brother_ has _brothers_ and _brethren_; _die_ has _dies_ and _dice_. Find out from the dictionary the meanings of these plurals.
The correct plural of a noun cannot always be reasoned out. It should never be guessed. It can always be learned from a dictionary.
=Summary.=—=Number= is that property of a noun by which it denotes one object or more than one.
A =singular= noun denotes one object.
A =plural= noun denotes more than one object.
Nouns form their plural =regularly= by adding _s_ or _es_ to the singular.
Many nouns form their plural =irregularly=.
=Exercise 1.=—Tell the plural of each of the following nouns. Tell how it is formed. Consult the dictionary when you are in doubt.
alto apostrophe box brush calf chromo crisis cupful deer Dutchman elf enemy fez fife foot German half hero hoof lasso lioness loaf monkey motto mouse negro noose Norman oasis piano pony sheaf size soprano tableau tooth vertebra volcano wharf court-martial Dr. Wright eyelash flagstaff General Allen hanger-on jack-in-the-pulpit Miss Davis passer-by postmaster general will-o’-the-wisp
=Exercise 2.=—Select all the nouns in the following sentences, and tell whether they are singular or plural. Give the singular of each plural word, and the plural of each singular word.
1. Listen! In yonder pine woods what a cawing of crows!
2. A washstand in the corner, a chest of carved mahogany drawers, a looking-glass in a filigree frame, and a high-backed chair studded with brass nails like a coffin constituted the furniture.
3. There have always been medicine men, rain makers, wizards, conjurers, sorcerers, astrologers, and fortune tellers, ready to trade on the fears of the weak, the ignorant, and the superstitious.
4. April brought the blue scylla and the sweet violet; May brought the much-loved narcissus and lily of the valley.
5. In came the three Miss Fezziwigs, beaming and lovable.
6. People hardly ever do know where to be born until it is too late.
7. The bell in the church tower was striking six, but I undressed for the night and buried myself under the bedclothes.
8. As it fell out, the three princesses were talking one night of whom they would marry.
9. Poor Mrs. Wise! I’m sure she’s to be pitied, living here with all these grandchildren.
10. As soon as Pussy heard me shut the gate in the yard at noon, when school was done, she would run up the stairs as hard as she could go.
11. The puppy’s nightly couch was outside the stable, even during the coldest weather.
12. The fish, strange creatures called groupers, with great sluggish bodies and horribly human faces, come crowding up to be fed.
13. What a hardy set of men they were, those Northmen of old!
14. The streams that have entered into our American life come from springs very wide apart,—from the Puritan whom James I was persecuting, and from the courtiers whom he was patronizing; from the Dutchmen whom Charles II was fighting, and from the Covenanters whom he was trying to convert at the pistol’s point; from the Scotchmen who had captured the north of Ireland, and from the Huguenots who had been driven out of the south of France.
What is the use of _listen_, sentence 1, _furniture_, 2, _horribly_, 12?
How are the adjectives _weak_, _ignorant_, and _superstitious_ used in sentence 3?
XXIX. NOUNS: GENDER
=107.= One of the characteristics of living things is sex; that is, all living things are male or female. Many nouns that are names of living things indicate sex. The noun _king_ indicates the male sex. The noun _queen_ indicates the female sex. The property of a noun by which it indicates the sex of the object named is called =gender=.
=108.= Since there are two sexes, there must be at least two genders. Nouns that indicate the male sex are said to be of the =masculine= gender; as, _hero_, _grandfather_.
Nouns that indicate the female sex are said to be of the =feminine= gender; as, _hen_, _tigress_, _sister_.
Note that sex, male or female, refers to a distinction, or difference, in the living creatures themselves, while gender is merely a property of their names that shows this distinction. It is absurd, therefore, to speak of a person of the masculine gender, but it is allowable to speak of masculine qualities, masculine attire, a masculine voice, etc.
=109.= Since things without life have no sex, the nouns that name such things have no gender; as, _sky_, _tent_, _pie_. Such words are said to be of the =neuter= gender. _Neuter_ means _neither_.
=110.= Some nouns that may be applied to persons of either male or female sex are said to be of =common= gender; as, _child_, _cousin_, _parent_, _clerk_.
=111.= Gender is denoted in three ways:—
(1) By a pair of words; as, _man_, _woman_; _bull_, _cow_; _lad_, _lass_.
(2) By inflection, that is, by adding a syllable to the masculine noun to form the feminine; as, _hero_, _heroine_; _lion_, _lioness_; _host_, _hostess_.
What can you say of the words _widow_ and _widower_?
(3) By prefixing a word whose gender is well known; as, _bull moose_, _maidservant_, _she bear_.
NOTE. —Some feminine nouns are going out of use. We no longer use the words _poetess_ or _authoress_. If a woman preaches, she is a minister; if she practices medicine, she is a doctor, not a “lady doctor.”
=Summary.=—=Gender= is that property of a noun which indicates the sex or non-sex of the object named.
There are four genders:—
A noun of the =masculine gender= indicates the male sex.
A noun of the =feminine gender= indicates the female sex.
A noun of the =neuter gender= indicates the absence of sex.
A noun of =common gender= may indicate either the male or the female sex.
Gender is denoted (1) by different words, (2) by inflection, (3) by prefixing some gender word.
=Exercise.=—Tell the gender of each noun in the following sentences. Tell how its gender is denoted. If you are in doubt about any word, consult the dictionary.
1. The she wolf lay agonizing in the darkest corner of the cave, licking in grim silence the raw stump of her right foreleg.
2. The wild goose winging at the head of the V knew of good feeding grounds near by, which he was ready to revisit.
3. Not vague was the fear of the brooding grouse in the far-off thicket, though the sound came to her but dimly.
4. At the captain’s signal the _Seabird_ came alongside, and Mr. Wintermute left Mrs. Howe and her little family to go on their journey alone.
5. Having sniffed the air for several minutes, without discerning anything to interest him, the great bull moose bethought him of his evening meal.
6. Here on the ridge a buck, with his herd of does and fawns, has established his winter “yard.”
7. Without a second’s hesitation the cow flung up her tail, gave a short bellow, and charged the bear.
8. Another thing that attracts attention is the animals tethered here, there, and everywhere. You see donkeys, goats, cows, even cats, hens, and turkeys, confined by the inevitable tether.
9. Never before since the nestlings broke the shell had her mate been so long away.
10. The pupils never entered the study except upon the most formal occasions.
11. A fine cock grouse alighted on a log some forty paces distant, stretched himself, strutted, spread his ruff and wings and tail, and was about to begin drumming.
12. Pedestrians walk where they will, here, there, or yonder.
13. Several men-of-war, with a multitude of smaller craft, are at anchor in Grassy Bay, and the admiral’s ship is lying on the great floating dock for repairs.
14. Some civilians are buried here, and many little children; and I came upon a pathetic memorial to a fair young English wife, who followed her soldier husband hither with her little child, only to die on these far-off shores.
15. Any animal that had died from natural causes the wolves would not touch, and they even rejected anything that had been killed by the stockmen. Their choice and daily food was the tenderer part of a freshly killed yearling heifer. An old bull or cow they disdained, and though they occasionally took a young calf or colt, it was quite clear that veal or horseflesh was not their favorite diet. It was also known that they were not fond of mutton, although they often amused themselves by killing sheep.
XXX. POSSESSIVE NOUNS
=112.= Instead of saying, “I borrowed the knife belonging to Will,” we are likely to say, “I borrowed Will’s knife.” Here we have a new form of the noun _Will_. It is used with the noun _knife_ to denote ownership of the knife, and is called a =possessive= noun.
=113.= Since a possessive noun denotes ownership, it must be used with another noun, the name of the thing owned. The possessive noun is said to modify this other noun. In the expression _doctor’s car_, the possessive noun _doctor’s_ modifies the noun _car_.
When the name of the thing owned is well known, it is often omitted. We say, “I bought these skates at Percy’s,” and omit the word _store_. A word omitted in this way is said to be “understood.”
=114.= Possessive nouns have a certain form of their own. The possessive singular of a noun is formed by adding to it the apostrophe and _s_; as, _girl’s_ desk; _friend’s_ home; _George’s_ boat.
NOTE.—In a few common expressions, like _for Jesus’ sake_, _for conscience’ sake_, the possessive is formed, for the sake of euphony, by adding merely the apostrophe.
When the plural of a noun ends in _s_, the possessive plural is formed by adding an apostrophe; as, _girls’_ league; _ladies’_ bonnets.
When the plural of a noun does not end in _s_, the possessive plural is formed by adding the apostrophe and _s_; as, _women’s_ shoes; _oxen’s_ yokes.
=115.= When two persons are joint owners of one thing, we give the possessive form to the name of the second person only; as, _Lewis and Fred’s_ boat.
When two persons own separate things, the name of each person must have the possessive form; as, I went to _Mandel’s_ and _Field’s_, meaning two different stores.
=116.= Compound nouns form the possessive by adding the sign of possession to the last word; as, singular, _son-in-law’s_; plural, _sons-in-law’s_.
=117.= The possessive noun does not always express actual ownership. Thus, “an _hour’s_ walk” means a walk lasting an hour, “_Lowell’s_ poems,” means the poems written by Lowell, “a _child’s_ grief” means the grief felt by a child. What is the meaning of _the day’s work_? _a good night’s rest_? _a year’s vacation_? _the king’s death_?
=118.= Possession may be denoted by a phrase beginning with the preposition _of_. This phrase is much used. We say _the back of the chair_, not _the chair’s back_; _the roots of the elm_, not _the elm’s roots_. This phrase enables us to avoid some awkward possessives. What may we say instead of _my cousin’s wife’s sister_? _the king of Greece’s court_?
=119.= In the expression “this book of John’s,” we have what is called a =double possessive=, for we have the possessive noun _John’s_, and the phrase introduced by _of_. We use the double possessive when the noun denoting the thing owned is first modified by some adjective, as _a_, _the_, _this_, _every_, _both_, _no_.
=Summary.=—A =possessive noun= denotes ownership.
A possessive noun modifies another noun, expressed or understood.
The possessive singular is formed by adding the apostrophe and _s_.
The possessive plural is formed by adding the apostrophe and _s_ if the noun does not end in _s_, and the apostrophe alone if the noun does end in _s_.
A =double possessive= is a phrase consisting of the preposition _of_ followed by some possessive word.
=Exercise 1.=—Write the possessive of each of these nouns. Tell whether it is singular or plural.
attorney-general chairman city colonies Colonel Cleveland commander in chief Charles Dickens daughters-in-law dwarfs foxes geese goddess groomsman Frenchman John Keats ladies major generals Miss James mulatto sailor boy thief witches woodpecker yeoman
=Exercise 2.=—Select all the possessive nouns in the following sentences. Tell what nouns they modify, and whether they are singular or plural. Tell also the gender of each possessive.
1. The lady’s fondness and the gentleman’s blindness were topics ably handled at every sewing circle in the town.
2. St. Paul’s is the largest Protestant church in the world.
3. Last year’s nuts are this year’s black earth.
4. On the way home we stopped at the baker’s to get some cream puffs.
5. Every debt of my partner’s has been paid.
6. The woodsman’s aim was true.
7. The singers’ seats, where the pretty girls sat, were the most conspicuous of all.
8. A half hour’s tramp through difficult woods brought him to the nearest of the waters.
9. In August we had two weeks’ vacation.
10. This editorial of Roosevelt’s is attracting much attention.
11. Sulphur they could buy at the apothecary’s.
12. The horse is coal-black, which is the regulation color of the Horse-Guards’ horses.
13. My clothes and my father’s were packed in a little leather valise.
14. The backwoodsman cast a tender look on the sleepers’ faces, and slipped out of the cabin door as silently as a shadow.
15. Just where we leave the highway to go to Gibbs’s Hill we pass a ruined house.
16. He had melted up his wife’s gold thimble and his great-grandfather’s gold-bowed spectacles.
17. I called on Nancy because she was a friend of Miss Davis’s.
18. Can you give a traveler a night’s lodging?
19.
When beechen buds begin to swell, And woods the bluebird’s warble know, The yellow violet’s modest bell Peeps from the last year’s leaves below.
Analyze sentences 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 16.
XXXI. NOUNS: CASE
=120.= We have seen that a noun may be used in different relations to other words in the sentence. It may be related to a verb, for instance, as subject, as object, and as subjective complement. That property of a noun which shows its relation to some other word in the sentence is called =case=.
=121.= The three most important and striking relations that a noun may bear are these: subject of a verb, object of a verb, and possessive modifier. Hence there are three cases.
When a noun is the subject of a verb, we say that it is in the =nominative= case.
When it is the object of a verb, we say that it is in the =objective= case.
When it is a possessive modifier, we say that it is in the =possessive= case.
The pronoun has the same three cases as a noun.
=122.= A noun is said to be =declined= when we give its three case forms in both the singular and the plural number.
DECLENSION OF _child_
_Singular_ _Plural_