At the burning of Moscow, it seemed as [it would seem] if the heavens were lighted up that the nations might behold the scene. Here as, if, and that connect each a lower, or subordinate, clause to a clause of higher rank, and hence are called +Subordinate Conjunctions+. One clause may be independent and the other dependent, or both dependent but of unequal rank.
+DEFINITIONS.+
+A Conjunction is a word used to connect words, phrases, or clauses+. [Footnote: Some of the co-ordinate conjunctions, as and and but, connect, in thought, sentences separated by the period, and even connect paragraphs. In analysis and parsing, we regard only the individual sentence and treat such connectives as introductory.]
+Co-ordinate Conjunctions are such as connect words, phrases, or clauses of the same rank+.
+Subordinate Conjunctions are such as connect clauses of different rank+.
+Remark+.—Some of the connectives below are conjunctions proper; some are relative pronouns; and some are adverbs or adverb phrases, which, in addition to their office as modifiers, may, in the absence of the conjunction, take its office upon themselves and connect the clauses.
To THE TEACHER.—We do not advise the memorizing of these lists. The pupils should he able to name the different groups, and some of the most common connectives of each group.
+Co-ordinate Connectives.+ [Footnote: +Copulative+ conjunctions join parts in the same line of thought; +Adversative+ conjunctions join parts contrasted or opposed in meaning; +Alternative+ conjunctions join parts so as to offer a choice or a denial. See Lesson 76.]
+Copulative+.—And, both … and, as well as [Footnote: The as well as in, He, as well as I, went; and not that in, He is as well as I am.] are conjunctions proper. Accordingly, also, besides, consequently, furthermore, hence, likewise, moreover, now, so, then, and therefore are conjunctive adverbs.
+Adversative+.—But and whereas are conjunctions proper. However, nevertheless, notwithstanding, on the contrary, on the other hand, still, and yet are conjunctive adverbs.
+Alternative+.—Neither, nor, or, either … or, and neither … nor are conjunctions proper. Else and otherwise are conjunctive adverbs.
+Subordinate Connectives.+
CONNECTIVES OF ADJECTIVE CLAUSES.
That, what, whatever, which, whichever, who, and whoever are relative pronouns. When, where, whereby, wherein, and why are conjunctive adverbs.
CONNECTIVES OF ADVERB CLAUSES.
Time.—After, as, before, ere, since, till, until, when, whenever, while, and whilst are conjunctive adverbs.
Place.—Whence, where, and _wherever _are conjunctive adverbs.
Degree.—As, than, that, and the are conjunctive adverbs, correlative with adjectives or adverbs.
Manner.—As is a conjunctive adverb, correlative, often, with an adjective or an adverb.
Real Cause.—As, because, for, since, and whereas are conjunctions proper.
Evidence.—Because, for, and since are conjunctions proper.
Purpose.—In order that, lest (= that not), that, and so that are conjunctions proper.
Condition.—Except, if, in case that, on condition that, provided, provided that, and unless are conjunctions proper.
Concession.—Although, if (= even if), notwithstanding, though, and whether are conjunctions proper. However is a conjunctive adverb. Whatever, whichever, and whoever are relative pronouns used indefinitely.
CONNECTIVES OF NOUN CLAUSES.
If, lest, that, and whether [Footnote: Etymologically, whether is restricted to two; but it has burst the bonds of its etymology and is very freely used with three or more.
The repetition of whether, like the use of it with three or more things, has been condemned, but usage allows us to repeat it.
Whether or no is also allowed.] are conjunctions proper. What, which, and who are pronouns introducing questions; and how, when, whence, where, and why are conjunctive adverbs introducing questions.
+Direction+.—Study the lists above, and point out all the connectives in Lessons 80 and 81, telling which are relative pronouns, which are conjunctions proper, and which are conjunctive adverbs.
+TO THE TEACHER+.—If the pupils lack maturity, or if it is found necessary to abridge this work in order to conform to a prescribed course of study, the six following Lessons may be omitted. The authors consider these exercises very profitable, but their omission will occasion no break in the course.
* * * * *
LESSON 101.
COMPOSITION—CONNECTIVES.
+Direction+.—Write twenty compound sentences whose clauses shall be joined by connectives named in the three subdivisions of co-ordinate connectives.
* * * * *
LESSON 102.
COMPOSITION—CONNECTIVES—CONTINUED.
+Direction+.—Write twenty complex sentences whose clauses shall be joined by connectives of adjective clauses, and by connectives of adverb clauses of time, place, degree, and manner.
* * * * *
LESSON 103.
COMPOSITION—CONNECTIVES—CONTINUED.
+Direction+.—Write twenty complex sentences whose clauses shall be joined by connectives of adverb clauses of real cause, evidence, purpose, condition, and concession, and by connectives of noun clauses.
* * * * *
LESSON 104.
CONNECTIVES.
Analysis.
+Direction+.—Tell what kinds of clauses follow the connectives below, and what are the usual connectives of such clauses, and then analyze the sentences:—
+As+ may connect a clause expressing +manner+, +time+, +degree+, +cause+, or +evidence+.
1. Mount Marcy is not so high as Mount Washington. 2. As I passed by, I found an altar with this inscription. 3. It must be raining, as men are carrying umbrellas. 4. Ice floats, as water expands in freezing. 5. Half-learned lessons slip from the memory, as an icicle from the hand.
+If+ may connect a clause expressing +condition+, +time+, or +concession+, or it may introduce a +noun+ clause.
6. If a slave's lungs breathe our air, that moment he is free. 7. If wishes were horses, all beggars might ride.
8. Who knows if one of the Pleiads is really missing? [Footnote: Many grammarians say that if here is improperly used for whether. But this use of if is common with good authors in early and in modern English.]
9. If the flights of Dryden are higher, Pope continues longer on the wing.
+Lest+ may connect a clause expressing +purpose+, or it may introduce a +noun+ clause.
10. England fears lest Russia may endanger British rule in India. 11. Watch and pray lest ye enter into temptation.
+Since+ may connect a clause expressing +time+, +cause+, or +evidence+.
12. It must be raining, since men are carrying umbrellas. 13. Many thousand years have gone by since the Pyramids were built. 14. Since the Puritans could not be convinced, they were persecuted.
* * * * *
LESSON 105.
CONNECTIVES—CONTINUED.
Analysis.
+Direction+.—Tell what kinds of clauses follow the connectives below, and what are the usual connectives of such clauses, and then analyze the sentences:—
+That+ may connect a +noun+ clause, an +adjective+ clause, or a clause expressing +degree+, +cause+, or +purpose+.
1. The Pharisee thanked God that he was not like other men. 2. Vesuvius threw its lava so far that Herculaneum and Pompeii were buried. 3. The smith plunges his red-hot iron into water that he may harden the metal. 4. Socrates said that he who might be better employed was idle. 5. We never tell our secrets to people that pump for them.
+When+ may connect a clause expressing +time+, +cause+, or +condition+, an +adjective+ clause or a +noun+ clause, or it may connect +co-ordinate+ clauses.
6. The Aztecs were astonished when they saw the Spanish horses. 7. November is the month when the deer sheds its horns. 8. When the future is uncertain, make the most of the present. 9. When the five great European races left Asia is a question. 10. When judges accept bribes, what may we expect from common people? 11. The dial instituted a formal inquiry, when hands, wheels, and weights protested their innocence.
+Where+ may connect a clause expressing +place+, an +adjective+ clause, or a +noun+ clause.
12. No one knows the place where Moses was buried. 13. Where Moses was buried is still a question. 14. No one has been where Moses was buried.
+While+ may connect a clause expressing +time+ or +concession+, or it may connect +co-ordinate+ clauses.
15. Napoleon was a genius, while Wellington was a man of talents. 16. While we sleep, the body is rebuilt. 17. While Charles I. had many excellent traits, he was a bad king.
* * * * *
LESSON 106.
CONNECTIVES—CONTINUED.
Analysis.
+Direction+.—Use the appropriate connectives, and change these compound sentences to complex without changing the meaning, and then analyze them:—
(Let one dependent clause be an adjective clause; let three express cause; five, condition; and two, concession.)
1. Caesar put the proffered crown aside, but he would fain have had it. 2. Take away honor and imagination and poetry from war, and it becomes carnage. 3. His crime has been discovered, and he must flee. 4. You must eat, or you will die. 5. Wisdom is the principal thing, therefore get wisdom. 6. Let but the commons hear this testament, and they would go and kiss dead Caesar's wounds. 7. Men are carrying umbrellas; it is raining. 8. Have ye brave sons? look in the next fierce brawl to see them die. 9. The Senate knows this, the Consul sees it, and yet the traitor lives. 10. Take away the grandeur of his cause, and Washington is a rebel instead of the purest of patriots. 11. The diamond is a sparkling gem, and it is pure carbon.
+Direction+.—Two of the dependent clauses below express condition, and three express concession. Place an appropriate conjunction before each, and then analyze the sentences:—
12. Should we fail, it can be no worse for us. 13. Had the Plantagenets succeeded in France, there would never have been an England. 14. Were he my brother, I could do no more for him. 15. Were I so disposed, I could not gratify the reader. 16. Were I [Admiral Nelson] to die this moment, more frigates would be found written on my heart.
* * * * *
LESSON 107.
CONSTRUCTION OF CONNECTIVES.
+Caution+.—Some conjunctions and conjunctive adverbs may stand in correlation with other words. And may be accompanied by both; as, by as, by so, or by such; but (but also and but likewise), by not only; if, by then; nor, by neither; or, by either or by whether; that, by so; the, by the; though, by yet; when, by then; and where, by there.
Be careful that the right words stand in correlation, and stand where they belong.
+Examples+.—Give me neither riches nor (not or) poverty. I cannot find either my book or (not nor) my hat. Dogs not only bark (not not only dogs bark) but also bite. Not only dogs (not dogs not only) bark but wolves also. He was neither (not neither was) rich nor poor.
+Direction+.—Study the Caution, and correct these errors:—
1. He not only gave me advice but also money. 2. A theatrical part may either imply some peculiarity of gesture or a dissimulation of my real sentiments. 3. She not only dressed richly but tastefully. 4. Neither Massachusetts or Pennsylvania has the population of New York. 5. Thales was not only famous for his knowledge of nature but also for his moral wisdom. 6. Not only he is successful but he deserves to succeed. 7. There was nothing either strange nor interesting.
+Caution+.—Choose apt connectives, but do not use them needlessly or instead of other parts of speech.
+Examples+.—Seldom, if (not or) ever, should an adverb stand between to and the infinitive. I will try to (not and) do better next time. No one can deny that (not but) he has money. [Footnote: See foot-note, page 176.] A harrow is drawn over the ground, which (not and which) covers the seed. Who doubts that (not but that or but what) Napoleon lived [Footnote: See foot-note, page 176.] The doctor had scarcely left when (not but) a patient called. He has no love for his father or (not nor) for his mother (the negative no is felt throughout the sentence, and need not be repeated by nor). He was not well, nor (not or) was he sick (not is expended in the first clause; nor is needed to make the second clause negative).
+Direction+.—Study the Caution and the Examples, and correct these errors:—
1. The excellence of Virgil, and which he possesses beyond other poets, is tenderness. 2. Try and recite the lesson perfectly to-morrow. 3. Who can doubt but that there is a God? 4. No one can eat nor drink while he is talking. 5. He seldom or ever went to church. 6. No one can deny but that the summer is the hottest season. 7. I do not know as I shall like it. 8. He said that, after he had asked the advice of all his friends, that he was more puzzled than before.
+Caution+.—Else, other, otherwise, rather, and adjectives and adverbs expressing a comparison are usually followed by than. But else, other, and more, implying something additional, but not different in kind, may be followed by but or besides.
+Examples+.—A diamond is nothing else than carbon. Junius was no other than Sir Philip Francis. The cripple cannot walk otherwise than on crutches. Americans would rather travel than stay at home. I rose earlier than I intended. He can converse on other topics besides politics.
+Direction+.—Study the Caution and the Examples, and correct these errors:—
1. Battles are fought with other weapons besides pop-guns. 2. The moon is something else but green cheese. 3. Cornwallis could not do otherwise but surrender. 4. It was no other but the President. 5. He no sooner saw the enemy but he turned and ran.
+Caution+.—Two or more connected words or phrases referring to another word or phrase should each make good sense with it.
+Examples+.—I have always (add said) and still do say that labor is honorable. Shakespeare was greater than any other poet that has (add lived) or is now alive. The boy is stronger than his sister, but not so tall (not The boy is stronger, but not so tall, as his sister).
+Direction+.—Study the Caution and the Examples, and correct these errors:—
1. Gold is heavier, but not so useful, as iron. 2. Gold is not so useful, but heavier, than iron. 3. This is as valuable, if not more so, than that. 4. Faithful boys have always and always will learn their lessons. 5. Bread is more nutritious, but not so cheap, as potatoes. 6. This dedication may serve for almost any book that has, is, or may be published.
* * * * *
LESSON 108.
MISCELLANEOUS ERRORS.
+Direction+.—Correct these errors, telling what Caution each violates:—
1. Carthage and Rome were rival powers: this city in Africa, and that in Europe; the one on the northern coast of the Mediterranean, the other on the southern. 2. The right and left lung were diseased. 3. The right and the left lungs were diseased. 4. My friend has sailed for Europe, who was here yesterday. 5. There are some men which are always young. 6. I cannot think but what God is good. 7. Thimbles, that are worn on the finger, are used in pushing the needle. 8. A told B that he was his best friend. 9. Them scissors are very dull. 10. Ethan Allen, being a rash man, he tried to capture Canada. 11. The lady that was thrown from the carriage, and who was picked up insensible, died. 12. The eye and ear have different offices. 13. I only laugh when I feel like it. 14. This is the same man who called yesterday. 15. He was an humble man. 16. He was thrown forward onto his face. 17. A knows more, but does not talk so well, as B. 18. The book cost a dollar, and which is a great price. 19. At what wharf does the boat stop at? 20. The music sounded harshly. 21. He would neither go himself or send anybody. 22. It isn't but a short distance. 23. The butter is splendid. 24. The boy was graceful and tall. 25. He hasn't, I don't suppose, laid by much. 26. One would rather have few friends than a few friends. 27. He is outrageously proud. 28. Not only the boy skated but he enjoyed it. 29. He has gone way out West. 30. Who doubts but what two and two are four? 31. Some people never have and never will bathe in salt water. 32. The problem was difficult to exactly understand. 33. It was the length of your finger. 34. He bought a condensed can of milk. 35. The fish breathes with other organs besides lungs. 36. The death is inevitable. 37. She wore a peculiar kind of a dress. 38. When shall we meet together? 39. He talks like you do. [Footnote: The use of the verb do as a substitute for a preceding verb is one of the most remarkable idioms in the language. In its several forms it stands for the finite forms and for the infinitive and the participle of verbs, transitive and intransitive, regular and irregular. It prevents repetition, and hence is euphonic; it abbreviates expression, and therefore is energetic.] 40. This word has a different source than that. 41. No sooner did I arrive when he called.
* * * * *
LESSON 109.
VARIOUS USES OF WHAT, THAT, AND BUT.
+What+ may be used as a +relative pronoun+, an +interrogative pronoun+, a +definitive adjective+, an +adverb+, and an +interjection+.
+Examples+.—He did what was right. What did he say? What man is happy with the toothache? What with confinement and what with bad diet, the prisoner found himself reduced to a skeleton (here what = partly, and modifies the phrase following it). What! you a lion?
+That+ may be used as a +relative pronoun+, an +adjective+ +pronoun+, a +definitive adjective+, a +conjunction+, and a +conjunctive adverb+.
+Examples+.—He that does a good deed is instantly ennobled. That is heroism. That man is a hero. We eat that we may live. It was so cold that the mercury froze.
+But+ may be used as a +conjunction+, an +adverb+, an +adjective+, and a +preposition+.
+Examples+.—The ostrich is a bird, but (adversative conjunction) it cannot fly. Not a sparrow falls but (= unless—subordinate conjunction) God wills it. He was all but (conjunction or preposition) dead = He was all dead, but he was not dead, or He was all (anything in that line) except (the climax) dead. No man is so wicked but (conjunctive adverb) he loves virtue = No man is wicked to that degree in which he loves not virtue (so = to that degree, but = in which not). We meet but (adverb = only) to part. Life is but (adjective = only) a dream. All but (preposition = except) him had fled. The tears of love were hopeless but (preposition = except) for thee. I cannot but remember = I cannot do anything but (preposition = except) remember. There is no fireside but (preposition) has one vacant chair (except the one which has); or, regarding but as a negative relative = that not, the sentence = There is no fireside that has not one vacant chair.
+Direction+.—Study the examples given above, point out the exact use of what, that, and but in these sentences, and then analyze the sentences:—
1. He did nothing but laugh. 2. It was once supposed that crystal is ice frozen so hard that it cannot be thawed. 3. What love equals a mother's? 4. There is nobody here but me. 5. The fine arts were all but proscribed. 6. There's not a breeze but whispers of thy name. 7. The longest life is but a day. 8. What if the bee love not these barren boughs? 9. That life is long which answers life's great end. 10. What! I the weaker vessel? 11. Whom should I obey but thee? 12 What by industry and what by economy, he had amassed a fortune. 13. I long ago found that out. 14. One should not always eat what he likes. 15. There's not a white hair on your face but should have its effect of gravity. 16. It was a look that, but for its quiet, would have seemed disdain. 17. He came but to return.
* * * * *
LESSON 110.
REVIEW QUESTIONS.
Lesson 85.—Define a noun. What is the distinction between a common and a proper noun? Why is music a common noun? What is a collective noun? An abstract noun? Define a pronoun. What are the classes of pronouns? Define them. What is an antecedent?
Lesson 86.—Give and illustrate the Cautions respecting he, it, and they; the needless use of pronouns; the two styles of the pronoun; the use of them for those, and of what for that; and the use of who, which, that, and what.
Lesson 87.—Give and illustrate the Cautions respecting connected relative clauses; the relative in clauses not restrictive; the use of that instead of who or which; the position of the relative clause; and the use of this and that, the one and the other.
Lesson 89.—Define an adjective. What two classes are there? Define them. What adjectives do not limit? Illustrate.
Lesson 90.—Give and illustrate the Cautions respecting the use of the adjectives an, a, and the; and the use of a few and few, a little and little.
Lesson 91.—Give and illustrate the Cautious respecting the choice and the position of adjectives.
Lesson_ 93.—Define a verb. What are transitive verbs? Intransitive? _Illustrate. What distinction is made between the object and the object complement? What are regular verbs? Irregular? Illustrate. What are the several classes of adverbs? Define them. What is a conjunctive adverb?
Lesson 93.—Give and illustrate the Cautions respecting the choice and the position of adverbs, the use of double negatives, and the use of adverbs for adjectives and of adjectives for adverbs.
* * * * *
LESSON 111.
REVIEW QUESTIONS—CONTINUED.
Lesson 95.—Define a preposition. Name some of the common prepositions. What is said of some prepositions ending in ing? Of but, except, and save? Of certain compound prepositions? When do prepositions become adverbs?
Lesson 98.—Give and illustrate the Caution as to the choice of prepositions. What, in general, is the difference between in and into?
Lesson 99.—Give and illustrate the two Cautions relating to the use of prepositions.
Lesson 100.—Define a conjunction. What are the two great classes of conjunctions, and what is their difference? What other parts of speech besides conjunctions connect? What are adverbs that connect called? Into what three classes are co-ordinate connectives subdivided? Give some of the conjunctions and the conjunctive adverbs of each class. What three kinds of clauses are connected by subordinate connectives? The connectives of adverb clauses are subdivided into what classes? Give a leading connective of each class.
Lessons 104, 105.—Illustrate two or more offices of each of the connectives as, if, lest, since, that, when, where, and while.
Lesson 107.—Give and illustrate the four Cautions relating to the construction of connectives.
Lesson 109.—Illustrate the offices of what, that, and but.
* * * * *
GENERAL REVIEW.
Schemes for the Conjunction, Preposition, and Interjection.
(The numbers refer to Lessons.)
| Co-Ordinate. |
THE CONJUNCTION. +Classes+. + Subordinate + 106-107.
| |
THE PREPOSITION. No Classes (95, 98, 99).
THE INTERJECTION. No Classes (20, 21).
MODIFICATIONS OF THE PARTS OF SPEECH.
* * * * *
LESSON 112.
+Introductory Hints+.—You have learned that two words may express a thought, and that the thought may be varied by adding modifying words. You are now to learn that the meaning or use of a word may be changed by simply changing its form. The English language has lost most of its inflections, or forms, so that many of the changes in the meaning and the use of words are not now marked by changes in form. These changes in the form, the meaning, and the use of the parts of speech we call their +Modifications+. [Footnote: Those grammarians that attempt to restrict number, case, mode, etc.—what we here call Modifications—to form, find themselves within bounds which they continually overleap. They define number, for instance, as a form, or inflection, and yet speak of nouns "plural in form but singular in sense," or "singular in form but plural in sense;" that is, if you construe them rigorously, plural or singular in form but singular or plural form in sense. They tell you that case is a form, and yet insist that nouns have three cases, though only two forms; and speak of the nominative and the objective case of the noun, "although in fact the two cases are always the same in form"—the two forms always the same in form!
On the other hand, those that make what we call Modifications denote only relations or conditions of words cannot cling to these abstract terms. For instance, they ask the pupil to "pronounce and write the possessive of nouns," hardly expecting, we suppose, that the "condition" of a noun will be sounded or written; and they speak of "a noun in the singular with a plural application," in which expression singular must be taken to mean singular form to save it from sheer nonsense.
We know no way to steer clear of Scylla and keep out of Charybdis but to do what by the common use of the word we are allowed; viz., to take Modifications with such breadth of signification that it will apply to meaning and to use, as well as to form. Primarily, of course, it meant inflections, used to mark changes in the meaning and use of words. But we shall use Modifications to indicate changes in meaning and use when the form in the particular instance is wanting, nowhere, however, recognizing that as a modification which is not somewhere marked by form.]
Modifications of Nouns and Pronouns.
NUMBER.
The boy shouts. The boys shout. The form of the subject boy is changed by adding an s to it. The meaning has changed. Boy denotes one lad; boys, two or more lads. This change in the form and the meaning of nouns is called +Number+; the word boy, denoting one thing, is in the +Singular Number+; and boys, denoting more than one thing, is in the +Plural Number+. Number expresses only the distinction of one from more than one; to express more precisely how many, we use adjectives, and say two boys, four boys, many or several boys.
+DEFINITIONS+.
+Modifications of the Parts of Speech are changes in their form, meaning, and use+.
+Number is that modification of a noun or pronoun which denotes one thing or more than one.+
+The Singular Number denotes one thing+.
+The Plural Number denotes more than one thing+.
NUMBER FORMS.
+RULE.—The plural of nouns is regularly formed by adding s to the singular+.
To this rule there are some exceptions.
When the singular ends in a sound that cannot unite with that of s, es is added and forms another syllable.[Footnote: In Anglo-Saxon, as was the plural termination for a certain class of nouns. In later English, as was changed to es, which became the regular plural ending; as, bird-es, cloud-es. In modern English, e is dropped, and s is joined to the singular without increase of syllables. But, when the singular ends in an s-sound, the original syllable es is retained, as two hissing sounds will not unite.]
+Remark+.—Such words as horse, niche, and cage drop the final e when es is added. See Rule 1, Lesson 137.
+Direction+.—Form the plural of each of the following nouns, and note what letters represent sounds that cannot unite with the sound of +s+:—
Ax or axe, arch, adz or adze, box, brush, cage, chaise, cross, ditch, face, gas, glass, hedge, horse, lash, lens, niche, prize, race, topaz.
The following nouns ending in o preceded by a consonant add es without increase of syllables.
+Direction+.—Form the plural of each of the following nouns:—
Buffalo, calico, cargo, echo, embargo, grotto, hero, innuendo, motto, mosquito, mulatto, negro, portico (oes or os), potato, tornado, torpedo, veto, volcano.
The following nouns in o preceded by a consonant add s only.
+Direction+.—Form the plural of each of the following nouns:—
Canto, domino (os or oes), duodecimo, halo, junto, lasso, memento, octavo, piano, proviso, quarto, salvo, solo, two, tyro, zero (os or oes).
Nouns in o preceded by a vowel add s.
Bamboo, cameo, cuckoo, embryo, folio, portfolio, seraglio, trio.
Common nouns [Footnote: See Rule 2, Lesson 127. In old English, such words as lady and fancy were spelled ladie, fancie. The modern plural simply retains the old spelling and adds s,] in y after a consonant change y into i and add es without increase of syllables. Nouns in y after a vowel add s.
+Direction+.—Form the plural of each of the following nouns:—
Alley, ally, attorney, chimney, city, colloquy, [Footnote: U after q is a consonant] daisy, essay, fairy, fancy, kidney, lady, lily, money, monkey, mystery, soliloquy, turkey, valley, vanity.
The following nouns change f or fe into ves.
+Direction+.—Form the plural of each of the following nouns:—
Beef, calf, elf, half, knife, leaf, life, loaf, self, sheaf, shelf, staff, [Footnote: Staff (a stick or support), staves or staffs; staff (a body of officers), staffs. The compounds of staff are regular; as, flagstaffs.] thief, wharf, [Footnote: In England, generally wharfs.] wife, wolf.
The following nouns in f and fe are regular.
+Direction+.—Form the plural of each of the following nouns:—
Belief, brief, chief, dwarf, fife, grief, gulf, hoof, kerchief, proof, reef, roof, safe, scarf, strife, waif.
(Nouns in ff, except staff, are regular; as, cuff, cuffs.)
The following plurals are still more irregular.
+Direction+.—Learn to form the following plurals:—
Child, children; foot, feet; goose, geese; louse, lice; man, men; mouse, mice; Mr., Messrs.; ox, oxen; tooth, teeth; woman, women.
(For the plurals of pronouns, see Lesson 124.)
* * * * *
LESSON 113.
NUMBER FORMS—CONTINUED.
Some nouns adopted from foreign languages still retain their original plural forms. Some of these take the English plural also.
+Direction+.—Learn to form the following plurals:—
Analysis, analyses; antithesis, antitheses; appendix, appendices or appendixes; automaton, automata or automatons; axis, axes; bandit, banditti or bandits; basis, bases; beau, beaux or beaus; cherub, cherubim or cherubs; crisis, crises; datum, data; ellipsis, ellipses; erratum, errata; focus, foci: fungus, fungi or funguses; genus, genera; hypothesis, hypotheses; ignis fatuus, ignes fatui; madame, mesdames; magus, magi; memorandum, memoranda or memorandums; monsieur, messieurs; nebula, nebulae; oasis, oases; parenthesis, parentheses; phenomenon, phenomena; radius, radii or radiuses; seraph, seraphim or seraphs; stratum, strata; synopsis, synopses; terminus, termini; vertebra, vertebrae; vortex, vortices or vortexes.
The following compound nouns, in which the principal word stands first, vary the first word; as, sons-in-law.
+Direction+.—Form the plural of the following words:—
Aid-de-camp, attorney-at-law, billet-doux, [Footnote: Plural, billets-doux, pronounced bil'-la:-doo:z ] commander-in-chief, court-martial, cousin-german, father-in-law, hanger-on, man-of-war.
The following, and most compounds, vary the last word; as, pailfuls, gentle_men_. [Footnote: Pails full is not a compound. This expression denotes a number of pails, each full.]
+Direction+.—Form the plural of each of the following nouns:—
Courtyard, dormouse, Englishman, fellow-servant, fisherman, Frenchman, forget-me-not, goose-quill, handful, maid-servant, man-trap, mouthful, pianoforte, portemonnaie, spoonful, stepson, tete-a-tete, tooth-brush.
The following nouns (except Norman) are not compounds of man—add s to all.
Brahman, German, Mussulman, Norman, Ottoman, talisman.
The following compounds vary both parts; as, man-singer, men-singers.
+Direction+.—Form the plural of each of the following nouns:—
Man-child, man-servant, woman-servant, woman-singer.
Compounds consisting of a proper name preceded by a title form the plural by varying either the title or the name; as, the Miss Clarks or the Misses Clark; but, when the title Mrs. is used, the name is usually varied; as, the Mrs. Clarks. [Footnote: Of the two forms, the Miss Clarks and the Misses Clark, we believe that the former is most used by the best authors. The latter, except in formal notes or when the title is to be emphasized, is rather stiff if not pedantic. Some authorities say that, when a numeral precedes the title, the name should always be varied; as, the two Miss Clarks.
The forms, the Misses Clarks and the two Mrs. Clark, have little authority.]
+Direction+.—Form the plural of the following compounds:—
Miss Jones, Mr. Jones, General Lee, Dr. Brown, Master Green.
A title used with two or more different names is made plural; as, Drs.
Grimes and Steele, Messrs. Clark and Maynard.
+Direction+.—Put each of the following expressions in its proper form:—
General Lee and Jackson; Miss Mary, Julia, and Anna Scott; Mr, Green,
Stacy, & Co.
Letters, figures, and other characters add the apostrophe and s to form the plural; [Footnote: Some good writers form the plural of words named merely as words, in the same way; as, the if's and and's; but the (') is here unnecessary.] as, a's, 2's, ——'s.
+Direction.+—Form the plural of each of the following characters:—S, i, t, +, x, [Dagger], 9, 1, 1/4, [Yough], [Cyrillic: E].
* * * * *
LESSON 114.
NUMBER FORMS—CONTINUED.
Some nouns have two plurals differing in meaning.
+Direction.+—Learn these plurals and their meanings:—
Brother,
brothers (by blood),
brethren (of the same society).
Cannon,
cannons (individuals),
cannon (in a collective sense).
Die,
dies (stamps for coining),
dice (cubes for gaming).
Fish,
fishes (individuals),
fish (collection). [Footnote: The names of several sorts of fish, as,
herring, shad, trout, etc. are used in the same way. The compounds of
fish, as codfish, have the same form in both numbers.]
Foot,
feet (parts of the body),
foot (foot-soldiers).
Genius,
geniuses (men of genius),
genii (spirits).
Head,
heads (parts of the body),
head (of cattle).
Horse,
horses (animals),
horse (horse-soldiers).
Index,
indexes (tables of reference),
indices (signs in algebra).
Penny,
pennies (distinct coins),
pence (quantity in value).
Sail,
sails (pieces of canvas),
sail (vessels).
Shot,
shots (number of times fired),
shot (number of balls).
The following nouns and pronouns have the same form in both numbers.
+Direction.+—Study the following list:—
Bellows, corps, [Footnote: The singular is pronounced ko:r, the plural ko:rz.] deer, gross, grouse, hose, means, odds, pains (care), series, sheep, species, swine, vermin, who, which, that (relative), what, any, none.
(The following have two forms in the plural).
Apparatus, apparatus or apparatuses; heathen, heathen or heathens.
(The following nouns have the same form in both numbers when used with numerals; they add s in other cases; as, four score, by scores.)
Dozen, score, yoke, hundred, thousand.
The following nouns have no plural.
(These are generally names of materials, qualities, or sciences.)
Names of materials when taken in their full or strict sense can have no plural, but they may be plural when kinds of the material or things made of it are referred to; as, cottons, coffees, tins, coppers.
+Direction.+—Study the following list of words:—
Bread, coffee, copper, flour, gold, goodness, grammar (science, not a book), grass, hay, honesty, iron, lead, marble, meekness, milk, molasses, music, peace, physiology, pride, tin, water.
The following plural forms are commonly used in the singular.
Acoustics, ethics, mathematics, politics (and other names of sciences in ics), amends, measles, news.
The following words are always plural.
(Such words are generally names of things double or multiform in their character.)
+Direction+.—Study the following list:—
Aborigines, annals, ashes, assets, clothes, fireworks, hysterics, literati, mumps, nippers, oats, pincers, rickets, scissors, shears, snuffers, suds, thanks, tongs, tidings, trousers, victuals, vitals.
The following were originally singular forms, but they are now treated as plural.
Alms (Anglo-Saxon aelmaesse), eaves (A. S. efese), riches (Norman
French richesse).
The following have no singular corresponding in meaning.
Colors (flag), compasses (dividers), goods (property), grounds (dregs), letters (literature), manners (behavior), matins (morning service); morals (character), remains (dead body), spectacles (glasses), stays (corsets), vespers (evening service).
(The singular form is sometimes an adjective.)
Bitters, greens, narrows, sweets, valuables, etc.
Collective nouns are treated as plural when the individuals in the collection are thought of, and as singular when the collection as a whole is thought of.
+Examples+.—The committee were unable to agree, and they asked to be discharged. A committee was appointed, and its report will soon be made.
(Collective nouns have plural forms; as, committees, armies.)
* * * * *
LESSON 115.
REVIEW IN NUMBER.
+Direction+.—Write the plural of the singular nouns and pronouns in the following list, and the singular of those that are plural; give the Rule or the Remark that applies to each; and note those that have no plural, and those that have no singular:—
Hope, age, bench, bush, house, loss, tax, waltz, potato, shoe, colony, piano, kangaroo, pulley, wharf, staff, fife, loaf, flagstaff, handkerchief, Mr., child, ox, beaux, cherubim, mesdames, termini, genus, genius, bagnio, theory, galley, muff, mystery, colloquy, son-in-law, man-of-war, spoonful, maid-servant, Frenchman, German, man-servant, Dr. Smith, Messrs. Brown and Smith, x, 1/2, deer, series, bellows, molasses, pride, politics, news, sunfish, clothes, alms, goods, grounds, greens, who, that.
+Direction.+—Give five words that have no plural, five that have no singular, and five that have the same form in both numbers.
+Direction.+—Correct the following plurals, and give the Remark that applies to each:—
Stagees, foxs, mosquitos, calicos, heros, soloes, babys, trioes, chimnies, storys, elfs, beefs, scarves, oxes, phenomenons, axises, terminuses, genuses, mother-in-laws, aldermans, Mussulmen, teeth-brushes, mouthsful, attorney-at-laws, man-childs, geese-quills, 2s, ms. swines.
* * * * *
LESSON 116.
NUMBER FORMS IN CONSTRUCTION.
The number of a noun may be determined not only by its form but also by the verb, the adjective, and the pronoun used in connection with it.
+Remark.+—These scissors are so dull that I cannot use them. The plurality of scissors is here made known in four ways. In the following sentence this, is, and it are incorrectly used: This scissors is so dull that I cannot use it.
+Direction+.—Construct sentences in which the number of each of the following nouns shall be indicated by the form of the verb, by the adjective, and by the pronoun used in connection with it:—
(With the singular nouns use the verbs is, was, and has been; the adjectives an, one, this, and that; the pronouns he, his, him, she, her, it, and its.)
(With the plural nouns use the verbs are, were, and have been; the adjectives these, those, and two; the pronouns they, their, and them.)
Bellows, deer, fish, gross, means, series, species, heathen, trout, iron, irons, news, eaves, riches, oats, vermin, molasses, Misses, brethren, dice, head (of cattle), pennies, child, parent, family, crowd, meeting.
+Direction+.—Compose sentences in which the first three of the following adjective pronouns shall be used as singular subjects, the fourth as a plural subject, and the remainder both as singular and as plural subjects:—
Each, either, neither, both, former, none, all, any.
* * * * *
LESSON 117.
NOUNS AND PRONOUNS—GENDER.
+Introductory Hints+.—The lion was caged. The lioness was caged. In the first sentence something is said about a male lion, and in the second something is said about a female lion. The modification of the noun to denote the sex of the thing which it names is called +Gender+. Lion, denoting a male animal, is in the +Masculine Gender; and lioness, denoting a female animal, is in the +Feminine Gender+. Names of things that are without sex are said to be in the +Neuter Gender+. Such nouns as cousin, child, friend, neighbor are either masculine or feminine. Such words are sometimes said to be in the Common Gender.
Sex belongs to the thing; and gender, to the noun that names the thing. Knowing the sex of the thing or its lack of sex, you know the gender of the noun in English that names it; for in our language gender follows the sex. But in such modern languages as the French and the German, and in Latin and Greek, the gender of nouns naming things without reference to sex is determined by the likeness of their endings in sound to the endings of words denoting things with sex. The German for table is a masculine noun, the French is feminine, and the English, of course, is neuter. [Footnote: In Anglo-Saxon, the mother-tongue of our language, gender was grammatical, as in the French and the German; but, since the union of the Norman-French with the Anglo-Saxon to form the English, gender has followed sex.]
* * * * *
+DEFINITIONS+.
+Gender is that modification of a noun or pronoun which denotes sex+.
+The Masculine Gender denotes the male sex+.
+The Feminine Gender denotes the female sex+.
+The Neuter Gender denotes want of sex+.
Gender Forms.
No English nouns have distinctive neuter forms, but a lew have different forms to distinguish the masculine from the feminine.
The masculine is distinguished from the feminine in three ways:—
1st. By a difference in the ending of the words.
2d. By different words in the compound names.
3d. By using words wholly or radically different.
Ess is the most common ending for feminine nouns. [Footnote: The suffix ess came into the English language from the Norman-French. It displaced the feminine termination of the mother-tongue (A. S. estre, old English ster). The original meaning of ster is preserved in spinster. Er (A. S. ere) was originally a masculine suffix; but it now generally denotes an agent without reference to sex; as, read-er, speak-er.]
+Direction+.—Form the feminine of each of the following masculine nouns by adding e s s :—
Author, baron, count, deacon, giant, god (see Rule 3, Lesson 127), heir, host, Jew, lion, patron, poet, prince (see Rule 1, Lesson 127), prior, prophet, shepherd, tailor, tutor.
(Drop the vowel e or o in the ending of the masculine, and add ess.)
Actor, ambassador, arbiter, benefactor, conductor, director, editor, enchanter, hunter, idolater, instructor, preceptor, tiger, waiter.
(Drop the masculine er or or, and add the feminine ess.)
Adventurer, caterer, governor, murderer, sorcerer.
(The following are somewhat irregular.)
+Direction+.—Learn these forms:—
Abbot, abbess; duke, duchess; emperor, empress; lad, lass; marquis, marchioness; master, mistress; negro, negress.
Ess was formerly more common than now. Such words as editor and author are now frequently used to denote persons of either sex.
+Direction+.—Give five nouns ending in e r or o r that may be applied to either sex.
Some words, mostly foreign, have various endings in the feminine.
+Direction+.—Learn the following forms:—
Administrator, administratrix; Augustus, Augusta; beau, belle; Charles, Charlotte; Cornelius, Cornelia; czar, czarina; don, donna; equestrian, equestrienne; executor, executrix; Francis, Frances; George, Georgiana; Henry, Henrietta; hero, heroine; infante, infanta; Jesse, Jessie; Joseph, Josephine; Julius, Julia or Juliet; landgrave, landgravine; Louis, Louisa or Louise; Paul, Pauline; signore or signor, siguora; sultan, sultana; testator, testatrix; widower, widow.
In some compounds distinguishing words are prefixed or affixed.
+Direction+.—Learn the following forms:—
Billy-goat, nanny-goat; buck-rabbit, doe-rabbit; cock-sparrow, hen-sparrow; Englishman, Englishwoman; gentleman, gentlewoman; grandfather, grandmother; he-bear, she-bear; landlord, landlady; man-servant, maid-servant; merman, mermaid; Mr. Jones, Mrs. or Miss Jones; peacock, peahen.
Words wholly or radically different are used to distinguish the masculine from the feminine.
(This is a matter pertaining to the dictionary rather than to grammar.)
+Direction+.—Learn the following forms:—
Bachelor, maid; buck, doe; drake, duck; earl, countess; friar or monk, nun; gander, goose; hart, roe; lord, lady; nephew, niece; sir, madam; stag, hind; steer, heifer; wizard, witch; youth, damsel or maiden.
The pronoun has three gender forms:—Masculine he, feminine she, and neuter it. [Footnote: It, although a neuter form, is used idiomatically to refer to a male or a female as, It was John; It was Mary.]
+Direction+.—Give five examples of each of the three ways of distinguishing the masculine from the feminine.
* * * * *
LESSON 118.
GENDER FORMS IN CONSTRUCTION.
Gender as a matter of orthography is of some importance, but in grammar it is chiefly important as involving the correct use of the pronouns he, she, and it.
When a singular noun is used so as to imply persons of both sexes, it is commonly represented by a masculine pronoun. [Footnote: When it is necessary to distinguish the sexes, both the masculine and the feminine pronoun should be used; as, Each person was required to name his or her favorite flower.]
+Example+.—Every person has his faults.
The names of animals are often considered as masculine or feminine without regard to the real sex.
+Examples+.—The grizzly bear is the most savage of his race. The cat steals upon her prey.
+Remark+.—The writer employs he or she according as he fancies the animal to possess masculine or feminine characteristics. He is more frequently employed than she.
The neuter pronoun it is often used with reference to animals and very young children, the sex being disregarded.
+Examples+.—When the deer is alarmed, it gives two or three graceful springs. The little child reached out its hand to catch the sunbeam.
+Remark+.—It is quite generally used instead of he or she, in referring to an animal, unless some masculine or feminine quality seems to predominate.
Inanimate things are often represented as living beings, that is, they are personified, and are referred to by the pronoun he or she.
+Example+.—The oak shall send his roots abroad and pierce thy mold.
+Remark+.—The names of objects distinguished for size, power, or sublimity are regarded as masculine; and the names of those distinguished for grace, beauty, gentleness, or productiveness are considered as feminine. Personification adds beauty and animation to style.
+Direction+.—Study what is said above, and then fill each of the blanks in the following sentences with a masculine, a feminine, or a neuter pronoun, and in each case give the reason for your selection:—
1. No one else is so much alone in the universe as —— who denies God. 2. A person's manners not unfrequently indicate —— morals, 3. Everybody should think for ——. 4. The forest's leaping panther shall yield —— spotted hide. 5. The catamount lies in the boughs to watch —— prey. 6. The mocking-bird poured from —— little throat floods of delirious music. 7. The wild beast from —— cavern sprang, the wild bird from —— grove. 8. The night-sparrow trills —— song. 9. The elephant is distinguished for —— strength and sagacity. 10. The bat is nocturnal in —— habits. 11. The dog is faithful to —— master. 12. The child was unconscious of —— danger. 13. The fox is noted for —— cunning. 14. Belgium's capital had gathered then —— beauty and —— chivalry. 15. Despair extends —— raven wing. 16. Life mocks the idle hate of —— arch-enemy, Death. 17. Spring comes forth —— work of gladness to contrive. 18. Truth is fearless, yet —— is meek and modest.
+Direction+.—Write sentences in which the things named below shall be personified by means of masculine pronouns:—
Death, time, winter, war, sun, river, wind.
+Direction+.—Write sentences in which the things named below shall be personified by means of feminine pronouns:—
Ship, moon, earth, spring, virtue, nature, night, England.
+Caution+.—Avoid changing the gender of the pronoun when referring to the same antecedent.
+Direction+.—Correct these errors:—
1. The polar bear is comparatively rare in menageries, as it suffers so much from the heat that he is not easily preserved in confinement. 2. The cat, when it comes to the light, contracts and elongates the pupil of her eye. 3. Summer clothes herself in green, and decks itself with flowers. 4. War leaves his victim on the field, and homes desolated by it mourn over her cruelty.
* * * * *
LESSON 119.
NOUNS AND PRONOUNS—PERSON AND CASE.
+Introductory Hints+.—Number and gender, as you have learned, are modifications affecting the meaning of nouns and pronouns—number being almost always indicated by form, or inflection; gender, sometimes. There are two modifications which do not refer to changes in the meaning of nouns and pronouns but to their different uses and relations. These uses and relations are not generally indicated by form, or inflection.
I, Paul, have written. Paul, thou art beside thyself. He brought Paul before Agrippa. In these three sentences the word Paul has three different uses, though, as you see, its form is not changed. In the first it is used to name the speaker; in the second, to name the one spoken to; in the third, to name the one spoken of. These different uses of nouns and pronouns and the forms used to mark these uses constitute the modification called +Person+. I, thou, and he are personal pronouns, and, as you see, distinguish person by their form. I, denoting the speaker, is in the +First Person+; thou, denoting the one spoken to, is in the +Second Person+; and he, denoting the one spoken of, is in the +Third Person+.
Instead of I a writer or speaker may use the plural we; and through courtesy it came to be customary, except among the Friends, or in the language of prayer and poetry, to use the plural you instead of thou.
The bear killed the man. The man killed the bear. The bear's grease was made into hair oil. In the first sentence the bear is represented as performing an act; in the second, as receiving an act; in the third, as possessing something. These different uses of nouns and pronouns and the forms used to mark these uses constitute the modification called +Case+. A noun used as subject is in the +Nominative Case+; used as object complement it is in the +Objective Case+; and used to denote possession it is in the +Possessive Case+.
Some of the pronouns have a special form for each case; but of nouns the possessive case is the only one that is now marked by a peculiar form. We inflect below a noun from the Anglo-Saxon, [Footnote: The Anglo-Saxon cases are nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, vocative; the Latin are nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, vocative, and ablative; the English are nominative, possessive (genitive), and objective.
ANGLO-SAXON.
Hlaford, lord.
Singular. Plural.
Nom. hlaford, hlaford-as.
Gen. hlaford-es, hlaford-a.
Dat. hlaford-e, hlaford-um.
Acc. hlaford, hlaford-as.
Voc. hlaford, hlaford-as.
LATIN.
Dominus, lord.
Singular. Plural.
Nom. domin-us, domin-i.
Gen. domin-i, domin-orum.
Dat. domin-o, domin-is.
Acc. domin-um, domin-os.
Voc. domin-e, domin-i.
Ab. domin-o, domin-is.
ENGLISH.
Lord.
Singular.
Nom. lord,
Pos. lord-'s,
Obj. lord;
Plural.
Nom. lord-s,
Pos. lord-s',
Obj. lord-s.]
and one from the Latin, the parent of the Norman-French, in order that you may see how cases and the inflections to mark them have been dropped in English. In English, prepositions have largely taken the place of case forms, and it is thought that by them our language can express the many relations of nouns to other words in the sentence better than other languages can by their cumbrous machinery of inflection.
+DEFINITIONS+.
+Person is that modification of a noun or pronoun which denotes the speaker, the one spoken to, or the one spoken of+.
+The First Person denotes the one speaking+.
+The Second Person denotes the one spoken to+.
+The Third Person denotes the one spoken of+.
A noun is said to be of the first person when joined as an explanatory modifier to a pronoun of the first person; as, I, John, saw these things; We Americans are always in a hurry. [Footnote: It is doubtful whether a noun is ever of the first person. It may be said that, in the sentence I, John, saw these things, John speaks of his own name, the expression meaning, I, and my name is John, etc.]
A noun is of the second person when used as explanatory of a pronoun of the second person, or when used independently as a term of address; as, Ye crags and peaks; Idle time, John, is ruinous.
+Direction+.—Compose sentences in which there shall be two examples of nouns and two of pronouns used in each of the three persons.
+Person Forms+.
Personal pronouns and verbs are the only classes of words that have distinctive person forms.
+Direction+.—From the forms of the pronouns given in Lesson 124, select and write in one list all the first person forms; in another list, all the second person forms; and in another, all the third person forms.
Person is regarded in grammar because the verb sometimes varies its form to agree with the person of its subject; as, I see; Thou seest; He sees.
+DEFINITIONS+.
+Case is that modification of a noun or pronoun which denotes its office in the sentence+.
+The Nominative Case of a noun or pronoun denotes its office as subject or as attribute complement+.
+The Possessive Case of a noun or pronoun denotes its office as possessive modifier+.
+The Objective Case of a noun or pronoun denotes its office as object complement, or as principal word in a prepositional phrase+.
A noun or pronoun used independently is said to be in the nominative case.
+Examples+.—I am, dear madam, your friend. Alas, poor Yorick! He being dead, we shall live. Liberty, it has fled! (See Lesson 44.)
A noun or pronoun used as explanatory modifier is in the same case as the word explained—"is put by apposition in the same case."
+Examples+.—The first colonial Congress, that of 1774, addressed the King, George III. He buys is goods at Stewart's, the dry-goods merchant.
A noun or pronoun used as objective complement is in the objective case.
+Examples+.—They made him speaker. He made it all it is.
A noun or pronoun used as attribute complement of a participle or an infinitive is in the same case (Nom. or Obj.) as the word to which it relates as attribute.
+Examples+.—Being an artist, he appreciated it. I proved it to be him.
+Remark+.—When the assumed subject of the participle or the infinitive is a possessive, the attribute complement is said to be in the nominative case; as, Its being he [Footnote: The case of he in these examples is rather doubtful. The nominative and the objective forms of the pronoun occur so rarely in such constructions that it seems impossible to determine the usage. It is therefore a matter of no great practical importance.