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.”