Plain English

SPELLING

LESSON 23

Many words contain letters for which there are no corresponding sounds in the spoken words. Thus, in the spoken word though there are only two sounds, the th and the o; u and g and h are silent. There are a great many words in the English language which contain these silent letters. There has been a movement inaugurated for the purpose of simplifying the spelling of these words, omitting these silent letters. Some writers have adopted this method of simplified spelling, and so in some magazines and books which you read you will find these silent letters dropped; for example, you will find though spelled tho, through spelled thru.

This method of simplified spelling has not been universally adopted and we have not followed it in these lessons because we feared that it would be confusing. Probably in most of your reading you will find the old method of spelling followed and all of these silent letters included. No doubt, as time goes on, we shall adopt this simplified method of spelling and drop all of these silent and useless letters.

In our spelling lesson for this week we have a number of words containing silent letters.

MONDAY

In a number of words you will find ea pronounced as short e. The board of simplified spelling has suggested that we drop the a, which is a silent letter, from these words. If we adopted their suggestion, words like head would be spelled hed. Note the spelling of the following words in which ea is pronounced as short e and the a is silent.

Spread, stead, threat, meant, pleasant, stealth.

TUESDAY

We have a number of words ending in ough in which the gh is silent.

1. In some of these words the ou is pronounced like ow. We have already changed the spelling of a few of these words, for example, we no longer use plough, but write it plow.

2. In other words ending with ough the ugh is silent and the words end with a long o sound, as in though. Many writers have dropped the silent letters ugh and spell this simply tho.

3. A few other words ending with ough end with a u sound and those who adopt the simplified spelling have dropped the ough and used simply u, as in through; many writers spell it simply thru. Observe the spelling of the following words and mark the silent letters:

Bough, through, thorough, furlough, borough, though.

WEDNESDAY

We have a number of words ending in mn in which the n is silent. Note the spelling of the following words:

Autumn, solemn, column, kiln, hymn, condemn.

THURSDAY

We have a number of words containing a silent b. Notice the spelling of the following words:

Doubt, debt, dumb, limb, thumb, lamb.

FRIDAY

A number of words end with silent ue after g. Some writers omit the ue and probably after a while we will drop this silent ue, but you will find it used now in most of your reading. These are such words as:

Catalogue, demagogue, decalogue, tongue, league, harangue.

SATURDAY

We have a number of words ending with gh in which the gh has the sound of f, as in the following words:

Trough, rough, enough, laugh, tough, cough.

PLAIN ENGLISH

LESSON 24

Dear Comrade:

We have finished our study of the different parts of speech and are going to enter upon the work of sentence building. In the next few lessons we will gather up all that we have been studying in these lessons so far. This is a good time to give this work a thorough review. Perhaps there have been a number of things in the lessons which you have not thoroughly understood, or perhaps there have been some rules for which you have not seen the reason. Now as we begin to construct our sentences, all of this will fit into its place. We shall find the reason for many of the things which may not have seemed thoroughly clear to us.

There is a science in language as in everything else, and language, after all, is governed by the will of the people. This has seemed so self-evident to those who make a special study of the language and its development that they have given this power a special name. They speak of the "Genius of the Language" as though there was some spirit guiding and directing the developing power of language.

There is a spirit guiding and directing the developing power of language. That spirit is the creative genius of the people. It is the same spirit that would guide and direct all phases of life into full and free expression, if it were permitted to act. There being no private profit connected with the control of the language, the creative genius of the people has had fuller sway.

The educator sitting in his study cannot make arbitrary rules to change or conserve the use of words. The people themselves are the final arbiter in language. It is the current usage among the masses which puts the final stamp upon any word. Think what this same creative genius might do if it were set free in social life, in industrial life. It would work out those principles which were best fitted to the advance of the people themselves. But those who would profit by the enslavement of the people have put stumbling blocks,—laws, conventions, morals, customs,—in the way of the people.

Their creative genius does not have full sway or free sweep, but let us rejoice that in language, at least, we are free. And let us, as we realize the power of the people manifest in this phase of life, determine that the same power shall be set free to work out its will in all life. Some day the revolution will come. The people will be free to rule themselves, to express their will, not in the realms of words alone, but in their social and economic life; and as we become free within, dare to think for ourselves and to demand our own, we each become a torch of the revolution, a center of rebellion—one of those who make straight the path for the future.

Yours for the Revolution,

THE PEOPLE'S COLLEGE.

SENTENCE BUILDING

400. Every expression of a complete thought is a sentence. A sentence is the unit in language. Words are the material out of which we build our sentences, so we have been studying the various parts of speech that are used in sentence building. Now we are ready to use these parts of speech in the building of sentences. We have found that there are eight parts of speech, though the interjection, which is termed the eighth part of speech, is not in reality a part of the sentence; but is a complete, independent construction. So in your sentences all of the many hundreds of words which we use can be grouped into seven divisions; nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, prepositions and conjunctions.

401. You remember in our first lesson we found that there were just three kinds of sentences. The assertive, the interrogative and the imperative; or in other words, sentences which state a fact, ask a question or give a command. We also found that these three kinds of sentences could all be expressed in exclamatory form.

THREE KINDS OF SENTENCES

• Assertive. Makes a statement.
• Interrogative. Asks a question.
• Imperative. Gives a command.

• Assertive sentence; I remember the day.
• Interrogative sentence; Do you not remember the day?
• Imperative sentence; Remember the day.

In Exclamatory Form

• Assertive; Nonsense! I remember the day.
• Interrogative; What! Do you not remember the day?
• Imperative; Oh come! Remember the day.

ANALYSIS—SIMPLE SENTENCES

402. Now that we have finished the study of the various parts of speech, we are ready for sentence building and for sentence analysis. Sentence analysis is the breaking up of the sentence into its different parts in order to find out how and why it is thus put together. To analyze anything is to break it up or separate it into its different parts. We speak of analyzing a sentence when we pick out the subject and the predicate and their modifiers, because we thus unloosen them or separate them from one another.

These parts of the sentence are called the elements of the sentence. The elements of a sentence consist of the words, phrases and clauses used in forming the sentence.

403. Let us begin from the simplest beginning and build up our sentences, using the various parts of speech as we have studied them. Let us take the simplest form of sentence which we can consider. For example:

• Men work.

There are only three parts of speech which can be used to make a simple sentence in this manner, and these are, either the noun and the verb, or the pronoun and the verb. We might say instead of Men work, They work, and have a complete sentence.

In the sentence Men work, men is the subject and work is the predicate. The subject and the predicate are the two principal elements in a sentence. No sentence can be formed without these two parts and these two parts can express a thought without the help of other elements. Now we may begin to enlarge the subject by adding modifiers.

You remember we have found that a noun may be modified by an adjective. So we add the adjective busy, and we have:

• Busy men work.

Our simple subject is still the noun men, but the complete subject is the noun with its modifier, busy men. We may add other adjectives and say:

• The busy, industrious men with families work.

Here we have our simple subject men modified by the adjectives, the, busy and industrious, and also by the adjective phrase, with families. So the complete subject of the sentence now is, the busy, industrious men with families.

Our predicate is still the single verb work. Let us now enlarge the predicate. We have found that adverbs are used to modify verbs, and so we may say:

• The busy, industrious men with families work hard.
• The busy, industrious men with families work hard in the factory.

Our simple predicate, work is now enlarged. It is modified by the adverb, hard and the adverb phrase, in the factory. So our complete predicate is now, work hard in the factory.

404. These sentences with the simple subject and the simple predicate and their modifying words and phrases form simple sentences.

A simple sentence is one which expresses a single statement, question or command.

405. A simple sentence, therefore, will contain but one subject and one predicate. The subject may be a compound subject and the predicate may be a compound predicate, but still the sentence expresses a single thought. For example: The boys sing. This is a simple statement with a simple subject and a simple predicate. Then we may say: The boys sing and play. We still have a single statement, but a compound predicate, sing and play.

Now we may make a compound subject, and say, The boys and girls sing and play, but we have still a single statement, for both predicates are asserted of both subjects. So, The boys and girls sing and play, is a simple sentence.

If we say, The boys sing and the girls play, we have a compound sentence, composed of two simple sentences, The boys sing, The girls play.

If we say, The boys sing while the girls play, we have a complex sentence formed of the simple sentence, The boys sing, and the dependent clause, while the girls play.

406. Now let us sum up our definitions:

Every sentence must contain two parts, a subject and a predicate.

The subject of a sentence is that part about which something is said.

The predicate is that part which asserts something of the subject.

The simple subject of a sentence is a noun, or the word used in place of a noun, without modifiers.

The simple predicate is the verb or verb phrase without its modifiers.

The complete subject of a sentence is the simple subject with all of its modifiers.

The complete predicate of a sentence is the simple predicate with all of its modifiers.

A simple sentence is one which expresses a single statement, question or command.

A complex sentence is one containing an independent clause and one or more dependent clauses.

A compound sentence is one containing two or more independent clauses.

A clause is a part of a sentence containing a subject and a predicate.

Exercise 1

In the following sentences the simple subject and the simple predicate are printed in italics. Find all of the modifiers of the subject and all of the modifiers of the predicate, and draw a single line under the complete subject and two lines under the complete predicate.

1. Beautiful pictures hang on the wall.
2. Those elm trees grow rapidly every year.
3. A terrible storm broke unexpectedly at sea.
4. The clear, crystal water runs swiftly to the sea.
5. The beautiful flowers fade quickly in the heat.
6. The happy, boisterous children play at school every day.
7. The sturdy oak in the forest stands bravely through every storm.
8. Their arching tops almost speak to us.
9. A cry of joy rings through the land.
10. The leaves of the trees flutter in the wind.
11. Great clouds of smoke float in the air.

Exercise 2

Note carefully the following simple sentences. Each of these groups of two words will suggest ideas and pictures to you. Lengthen each sentence by adding modifiers to the simple subject and to the simple predicate so as to make a fuller and more definite statement. For example: Ships sail. This is a simple subject and simple predicate. We add adjectives and an adjective phrase and adverbs and an adverb phrase as modifiers and we have, as follows:

• The stately ships in the bay sail proudly away to foreign shores.

• Snow melts.
• Winds blow.
• House stands.
• Boys run.
• Soldiers fight.
• Tides flow.
• Children play.
• Ships sail.
• Guns boom.
• Women endure.

ANOTHER ELEMENT

407. You will note that all of these verbs which we have used in these sentences have been complete verbs as hang, grow, runs, fade, etc. A complete verb, you will remember, is a verb that does not need an object or a complement. It is complete within itself. It may be modified by an adverb or an adverb phrase, but when you leave off these modifiers you still have complete sense.

In any of the sentences above you may cross out the adverb or the adverb phrase which modifies the verb and you will still have complete sentences. For example:

• Great clouds of smoke float in the air.

Here, the adverb phrase, in the air, may be omitted and still we have complete sense, thus:

• Great clouds of smoke float.

408. The incomplete verbs, however, require either an object or complement to complete their meaning.

Incomplete verbs are of two kinds; those that express action and those that express state or condition.

An incomplete verb that expresses action requires an object which is the receiver of the action expressed in the verb, so we have another element which enters into the simple sentence, when we use an incomplete verb. For example:

• The busy man makes shoes.

In order to complete the sentence, we must use an object with the incomplete verb makes. To say, The busy man makes, is not enough. We must have an object which is the receiver of the action expressed in the verb, makes. Verbs of action often have two objects. One object names the thing that receives the action and the other names the thing indirectly affected by the action. For example:

• The tailor made him a coat.

409. Coat is the direct object of the verb made. But we have another object in the pronoun him. We do not mean that the tailor made him, but that the tailor made him a coat. Coat is the direct object and him is the indirect object. The indirect object is always placed before the direct object. The indirect object may be used as the object of the preposition to or for. As for example, this sentence might be rewritten to read, The tailor made a coat for him. In this sentence, him is not the indirect object of the verb, but is the object of the preposition for.

410. The direct object of the verb always answers the question what? As for example, the tailor made what?—a coat. The indirect object of the verb names the person or thing to or for which the act is done,—the tailor made a coat for whom?—for him.

The direct and indirect object become a part of the complete predicate of the sentence. There may be other modifiers also, as adverbs or adverb phrases, and all of these taken together form the complete predicate in the sentences where you have used an incomplete verb. As for example:

• The tailor gladly made him a coat for the occasion.

The complete predicate is, gladly made him a coat for the occasion, formed of the verb made, the direct object, coat, the indirect object him, the adverb modifier, gladly, and the phrase modifier, for the occasion.

Exercise 3

In the following sentences, underscore the direct object with one line and the indirect object with two lines. The verb is in italics.

1. He gave her a book.
2. He wrote me a long letter.
3. Her father bought her a watch.
4. The nurse gave the patient his medicine.
5. The mother gave her daughter a present.
6. Give me time to think.
7. The clerk sold her a dress.
8. The teacher read the children a story.
9. The company furnishes the men food and shelter.
10. The man showed us his wounds.

Exercise 4

In the following sentences underscore the complete subject and the complete predicate. Notice especially the direct and the indirect objects of the incomplete verbs. The simple subjects and the direct objects are in italics.

1. A great many miles separate us from our friends.
2. The merry shouts of the children fill the air with music.
3. A gentle breeze brings us the perfume of the flowers.
4. A careless druggist gave the unfortunate man the wrong medicine.
5. His admiring friends gave him a beautiful ring.
6. Soldiers obey orders from their superiors.
7. This terrible war claims thousands of victims.
8. The power of hunger drives the unemployed to rebellion.
9. The workers of the world produce enough for all.
10. The retiring secretary showed us a letter from the president.
11. The old sea captain told them an interesting story of life at sea.
12. Labor produces all wealth.

COPULATIVE VERBS

411. We have another class of incomplete verbs which require a complement to complete their meaning. These are the copulative verbs. The number of copulative verbs is small. They are: all forms of the verb be; also, like, appear, look, feel, sound, smell, become, seem, etc. These verbs require a noun or an adjective or a phrase as a complement, to complete their meaning. They are really connective words serving to connect the noun or adjective or phrase used in the predicate with the noun which they modify. The noun or adjective or phrase used to complete the meaning of the copulative verb is called a predicate complement. For example:

• The man is a hero.

Here we have a noun, hero, used as a predicate complement after the copulative verb, is, to describe the noun man.

• The man is class-conscious.

In this sentence, we have an adjective, class-conscious, in the predicate to modify the subject, man. It is connected with the subject by the copulative verb is.

• The man is in earnest.

Here we have a phrase, in earnest, used in the predicate to modify the noun man, and connected with the subject by the copulative verb is.

412. So in the predicate with the copulative verbs—incomplete verbs which express state or condition—we may use a noun or an adjective or a phrase. A noun used as the predicate complement may have modifiers. It may be modified by one or more adjectives or adjective phrases. These adjectives in turn may be modified by adverbs. The complete predicate, then, is the copulative verb with its predicate complement and all its modifiers. For example:

• Grant was the most famous general of the Civil war.

In this sentence, Grant is the complete subject, was the most famous general of the Civil war is the complete predicate. Was is the copulative verb; general is the noun used as the predicate complement; the and famous are adjectives modifying general; most is an adverb modifying the adjective famous, and, of the Civil war is an adjective phrase modifying general, so our complete predicate is, was the most famous general of the Civil war.

When an adjective is used in the predicate complement it, too, may have modifiers and more than one adjective may be used. For example:

• The man is very brave and loyal to his class.

Here we have two adjectives used in the predicate complement, brave and loyal. Brave is modified by the adverb very, and loyal is modified by the adverb phrase, to his class. The complete predicate is, is very brave and loyal to his class.

When we use a phrase as a predicate complement, it, too, may have modifiers and more than one phrase may be used. For example:

• The man is in the fight and deeply in earnest.

In this sentence, two phrases are used in the predicate complement, in the fight and in earnest. The second phrase, in earnest is modified by the adverb deeply. The complete predicate is, is in the fight and deeply in earnest.

Exercise 5

Fill the blanks in the following sentences with a noun and its modifiers used as predicate complement. Name all of the parts of speech which you have used in the predicate complement as we have done in the sentences analyzed above:

• The men are loyal members of the Union.
• Slavery is.......
• Liberty will be.......
• War is.......
• The machine is.......
• The children were.......

Fill the blanks in the following sentences with one or more adjectives and their modifiers used in the predicate complement.

• The work is hard and destructive to the children.
• The history will be.......
• Labor has been.......
• Peace will be.......
• Poverty is.......

Fill the blanks in the following sentences with a phrase used in the predicate complement.

• His service was for his class.
• Socialism is.......
• The workers are.......
• The message shall be.......
• The government is.......
• The opportunity is.......

VERB PHRASES

413. Note that in most of the sentences which we have used, we have used the simple form of the verb, the form that is used to express past and present time. In expressing other time forms we use verb phrases. Note the summary given in section 145, which gives the different time forms of the verb.

414. Sometimes in using the verb phrase you will find that other words may separate the words forming the phrase. When you analyze your sentence this will not confuse you. You will easily be able to pick out the verb phrase. For example:

• I shall very soon find out the trouble.

Here the adverbs, very and soon, separate find from its auxiliary shall. The verb phrase is, shall find. The negative not very often separates the words forming a verb phrase. For example:

• I will not go.

In this sentence, will go is the verb phrase.

When we use the auxiliary verb do to express emphasis, and also the negative not, not comes between the auxiliary verb do, and the principal verb. For example:

• I do not obey, I think.

In this sentence, do obey is the verb phrase.

In interrogative sentences, the verb phrase is inverted and a part of the verb phrase is placed first and the subject after. For example:

• Will you go with us?

You is the subject of this interrogative sentence and will go is the verb phrase; but in order to ask the question, the order is inverted and part of the verb phrase placed first. In using interrogative adverbs in asking a question, the same inverted order is used. For example:

• When will this work be commenced?

In this sentence, work is the subject of the sentence and will be commenced is the verb phrase. If you should write this in assertive form, it would be:

• This work will be commenced when?

By paying close attention we can easily distinguish the verb phrases even when they are used in the inverted form or when they are separated by other parts of speech.

LET US SUM UP

415. The elements of a sentence are the words, phrases or clauses of which it is composed.

A simple sentence is one which contains a single statement, question or command.

A simple sentence contains only words and phrases. It does not contain dependent clauses. The elements of a simple sentence are:

Exercise 6

In the following sentences, the simple subjects and the simple predicates of the principal clauses are printed in italics. Locate all the modifiers of the subjects and predicates, and determine the part of speech of each word in the sentence.

Sentences Nos. 1, 5, 6, 14, 15, 16, 18, 30, 31, 32 and 37 are simple sentences.

Sentences Nos. 2, 4, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 22, 26, 28, 33, 34 and 36 are complex.

Sentences Nos. 3, 10, 12, 21, 23, 24, 25, 29 and 35 are compound.

No. 8 is incomplete, having neither subject nor predicate.

No. 9 is incomplete, there being no predicate in the principal clause.

No. 20 is a simple sentence, with a complex sentence in parenthesis.

No. 27 consists of two dependent clauses.

In the complex sentences, draw a line under the dependent clauses.

• "Br—r—r—r—r—r—r—r—r—."

1. What are the machines saying, a hundred of them in one long room?
2. They must be talking to themselves, for I see no one else for them to talk to.
3. But yes, there is a boy's red head bending over one of them, and beyond I see a pale face fringed with brown curly locks.
4. There are only five boys in all, on the floor, half-hidden by the clattering machines, for one bright lad can manage twenty-five of them.
5. Each machine makes one cheap, stout sock in five minutes, without seam, complete from toe to ankle, cutting the thread at the end and beginning another of its own accord.
6. The boys have nothing to do but to clean and burnish and oil the steel rods and replace the spools of yarn.
7. But how rapidly and nervously they do it—the slower hands straining to accomplish as much as the fastest!
8. Working at high tension for ten hours a day in the close, greasy air and endless whirr——
9. Boys who ought to be out playing ball in the fields or taking a swim in the river this fine summer afternoon.
10. And in these good times, the machines go all night, and other shifts of boys are kept from their beds to watch them.
11. The young girls in the mending and finishing rooms downstairs are not so strong as the boys.
12. They have an unaccountable way of fainting and collapsing in the noise and smell, and then they are of no use for the rest of the day.
13. The kind stockholders have had to provide a room for collapsed girls and to employ a doctor, who finds it expedient not to understand this strange new disease.
14. Perhaps their children will be more stalwart in the next generation.
15. Yet this factory is one of the triumphs of our civilization.
16. With only twenty boys at a time at the machines in all the rooms, it produces five thousand dozen pairs of socks in twenty-four hours for the toilers of the land.
17. It would take an army of fifty thousand hand-knitters to do what these small boys perform.
    "Br—r—r—r—r—r—r—r—r—."
18. What are the machines saying?
19. They are saying, "We are hungry."
20. "We have eaten up the men and women. (There is no longer a market for men and women, they come too high)—
21. We have eaten up the men and women, and now we are devouring the boys and girls.
22. How good they taste as we suck the blood from their rounded cheeks and forms, and cast them aside sallow and thin and careworn, and then call for more.
23. Br—r—r—r—r—r—r—r! how good they taste; but they give us so few boys and girls to eat nowadays, although there are so many outside begging to come in—.
24. Only one boy to twenty of us, and we are nearly famished!
25. We eat those they give us and those outside will starve, and soon we shall be left almost alone in the world with the stockholders.
26. Br—r—r—r—r—r—r—r! What shall we do then for our food?" the machines chatter on.
27. "When we are piling up millions of socks a day for the toilers and then there are no toilers left to buy them and wear them.
28. Then perhaps we shall have to turn upon the kind stockholders and feast on them (how fat and tender and toothsome they will be!) until at last we alone remain, clattering and chattering in a desolate land," growled the machines.
29. While the boys went on anxiously, hurriedly rubbing and polishing, and the girls downstairs went on collapsing.
30. "Br—r—r—r—r—r—r—r!" growled the machines.
31. The devil has somehow got into the machines.
32. They came like the good gnomes and fairies of old, to be our willing slaves and make our lives easy.
33. Now that, by their help, one man can do the work of a score, why have we not plenty for all, with only enough work to keep us happy?
34. Who could have foreseen all the ills of our factory workers and of those who are displaced and cast aside by factory work?
35. The good wood and iron elves came to bless us all, but some of us have succeeded in bewitching them to our own ends and turning them against the rest of mankind.
36. We must break the sinister charm and win over the docile, tireless machines until they refuse to shut out a single human being from their benefits.
37. We must cast the devil out of the machines.—Ernest Crosby.

SPELLING

LESSON 24

Among the common suffixes in English are the suffixes or and er. These suffixes mean one who or that which. For example, builder, one who builds; actor, one who acts; heater, that which heats. But we are confused many times to know whether to add the suffix or or er to form these derivative words. There is no exact rule which can be given, but the following rule usually applies with but few exceptions:

To the shorter and commoner words in the language add the suffix er. For example, writer, boxer, singer, etc. To the longer and less common words, usually those derived from the Latin or the Greek, add the suffix or. For example, legislator, conqueror, etc.

There are a number of words in the English like honor, in which the last syllable used to be spelled our instead of or. You will probably run across such words as these in your reading. This mode of spelling these words, however, is being rapidly dropped and the ending or is being used instead of our. There are also a number of words in our language like center, which used to be spelled with re instead of er. The re ending is not used any more, although you may run across it occasionally in your reading. The proper ending for all such words as these is er. There are a few words, however, like timbre (a musical term) and acre, which are still properly spelled with the re ending.

The spelling lessons for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, contain words from which derivatives can be formed by adding er or or. Look these words up in the dictionary and be sure that you have added the proper suffix. The list for Friday consists of words which you may find in your reading spelled with the our ending. The list for Saturday contains words which you may find spelled with the re ending instead of the er.

Monday

• Create
• Produce
• Profess
• Debate
• Govern

Tuesday

• Edit
• Consume
• Consign
• Legislate
• Design

Wednesday

• Solicit
• Pay
• Success
• Observe
• Invent

Thursday

• Vote
• Debt
• Organize
• Sail
• Strike

Friday

• Labor
• Neighbor
• Rumor
• Valor
• Candor

Saturday

• Theater
• Scepter
• Fiber
• Somber
• Meager

PLAIN ENGLISH

LESSON 25

Dear Comrade:

In logic, we have two ways of reasoning, from the general to the particular and from the particular to the general. In other words, we may take a certain number of facts and reason to a conclusion; or we may go the other way about and start with our conclusion and reason back to the facts which produce the conclusion. Scientists use the former method. They gather together all the facts which they possibly can and from these facts they reach their conclusions.

This was what Karl Marx did for the social problems of his day. He analyzed these problems. He gathered together all of the facts which he could obtain concerning conditions of his day and from these facts he reached certain conclusions. He foretold the rise of capitalism and outlined present day conditions so perfectly that had he lived long ago among superstitious people, they would probably have called him a prophet.

This mastery of analysis, of marshaling our facts and from them reaching conclusions, is a wonderful power to possess, and this is exactly what we are doing in our English work. We are analyzing our sentences, finding the elements of which they are composed, and then building the sentence; and since neither the thought nor the sentence can be really studied except in connection with each other, this analysis of sentences gives us an understanding of the thought. The effort to analyze a difficult sentence leads to a fuller appreciation of the meaning of the sentence. This, in turn, cultivates accuracy in our own thought and in its expression.

So do not slight the analysis of the sentence or this work in sentence building. You will find it will help you to a quicker understanding of that which you are reading and it will also give you a logical habit of mind. You will be able to think more accurately and express yourself more clearly. After a little practice in analysis you will find that in your reading you will be able to grasp the author's meaning quickly. You will see at a glance, without thinking about it consciously, the subject and the predicate and the modifiers in the sentence. Then you will not confuse the meaning. You will not have to go back and reread the passage to find out just what the author was talking about; and when you come to write and speak yourself, you will have formed the habit of logical expression. In this way you will be able to put your thought in such a manner that your listener can make no mistake as to just what you mean.

Now, no habit comes without practice. You cannot do a thing unconsciously until you have done it consciously a great many times. So practice this analysis of sentences over and over. It really is an interesting game in itself, and the results which it will bring to you are tremendously worth while.

Nothing is too much trouble which will give us the power to think for ourselves and to put that thought into words.

Yours for Freedom,

THE PEOPLE'S COLLEGE.

THE SUBJECT OF A SIMPLE SENTENCE

416. We have found that the two parts of a simple sentence are the complete subject and the complete predicate. The noun is most often used as the subject of a sentence. It may have a number of modifiers, but when we strip away these modifiers we can usually find a noun which is the subject of the sentence. Occasionally the subject is a pronoun or a participle or adjective used as a noun but most frequently the subject is a noun. As for example:

• A wild piercing cry rang out.
• Hopeless, helpless children work in the cotton mills.
• The golden age of peace will come.
• Little child lives are coined into money.
• Defenseless, helpless children suffer most under capitalism.
• Every neglected child smites my conscience in the name of humanity.
• The thrilling, far-sounding battle-cry shall resound.

Note that in all of these sentences the word in italics is a noun, which is the simple subject of the sentence. All of the other words which comprise the complete subject are the modifiers of this noun, or modifiers of its modifiers.

But in our study of words, we have found that there are a number of other words which can be used in place of a noun and these may all be used as the subject of a sentence.

417. A pronoun may be used as the subject of a sentence, for the pronoun is a word used in place of the noun; and a pronoun used as the subject of a sentence may have modifiers just as a noun. It may be modified by adjectives or adjective phrases, as for example:

• We are confident of success.
• He, worried and out of employment, committed suicide.
• She, heartsick and weary, waited for an answer.
• She, with her happy, watchful ways, blessed the household.
• They, victorious and triumphant, entered the city.
• How can I, without money or friends, succeed?

In all of these sentences the pronoun is the simple subject of the sentence, and the pronoun with all of its modifiers is the complete subject of the sentence.

418. The participle may be used as a noun, the subject of the sentence. For example:

• Traveling is pleasant.

Here the present participle traveling is used as a noun, subject of the sentence.

Participle phrases may also be used as nouns, as for example:

• Being prepared will not save us from war.
• His having signed the note was the cause of the trouble.

In these sentences, being prepared and having signed are participle phrases used as nouns, the subjects of the verbs will save and was. Note the use of the participle used as the subject in the following sentences:

• Painting is an art.
• Making shoes is his work.
• Being discovered seems to be the real crime.
• His having joined his comrades was a brave act.
• Your remaining here will be dangerous.

Note that when the participle is used as a noun, the possessive form of the pronoun is always used with it, as in the sentence above:

• Your remaining here will be dangerous.

Notice that in some of these sentences the participle has an object; as, making shoes, his having joined his comrades. The participle still retains some of its verb nature in that it may take an object. The entire phrases, His having joined his comrades, and, Making shoes, are the subjects of the sentences.

419. The infinitive may also be used as a noun, the subject of the sentence. Note in the following sentences the use of the infinitive as the subject of the sentence:

• To err is human; to forgive is divine.
• To be or not to be is the question.
• To toil all day is wearisome.
• To aim is one thing; to hit the mark is another.
• To remain ignorant is to remain a slave.

420. An adjective can also be used as the subject. You remember in our study of adjectives we found that an adjective may be used as a noun, as for example:

• The strong enslave the weak.

Here the adjective strong is used as a noun, subject of the sentence. Note in the following sentences, the use of the adjectives as subjects:

• The wise instruct the ignorant.
• The dead were left upon the battlefields.
• The rich look down upon the poor.
• The mighty of the earth have forced this war upon us.
• The poor are enslaved by their ignorance.
• The wounded were carried to the hospitals.

PLACE OF THE SUBJECT IN A SENTENCE

The subject usually comes first in the sentence. If it has any modifiers, they alone precede the subject, as for example:

• A wonderful, inspiring lecture was given.
• The weary army slept in the trenches.

But occasionally we find the subject after the verb.

421. By simple inversion.

We will often find this use in poetry or in poetic prose, as for example:

• Never have I heard one word to the contrary.

In this sentence I is the subject of the sentence, have heard is the verb, and never is an adverb modifying the verb phrase, have heard. But in order to place emphasis upon the word never, which is the emphatic word in the sentence, never is placed first, and the verb phrase inverted so that the subject I comes in between the two words which form the verb phrase. The sentence expressed in its usual order would be:

• I have never heard one word to the contrary.

You will note that this statement does not carry the same emphasis upon the word never as the inverted statement.

422. In interrogative sentences, the subject comes after the helping verb or after the interrogative used to introduce the sentence. As for example:

• Have you heard the news?
• When will we hear from you?
• How have the people been managing?
• What will the children do then?
• Will the students come later?
• Can the work be accomplished quickly?
• Must our youth end so quickly?

423. The real subject comes after the verb when we use the introductory word it. As for example:

• It will not be safe to go.

To go is really the subject of the sentence. To go will not be safe.

It is sometimes the real subject of a sentence, as in the sentence; It is a wonderful story.

Here it is the subject of the sentence and a wonderful story is the predicate complement. But in the sentence:

• It is wonderful to hear him tell the story.

To hear him tell the story is the real subject of the sentence. The first sentence, It is a wonderful story, could not be rewritten, but the second sentence could be rewritten, as follows:

• To hear him tell the story is wonderful.

424. The introductory word there reverses the order of the sentence, just as the introductory word it. The real subject is used later in the sentence. As for example:

• There were a great many people present.

This could be rewritten, omitting the introductory word there. We could say:

• A great many people were present.

The noun people is the subject of the sentence.

Exercise 1

In the following sentences, underscore the complete subject with one line, and the simple subject with two lines, and decide whether the simple subject is a noun, pronoun, participle, infinitive or an adjective used as a noun:

1. A great man is universal and elemental.
2. To love justice was his creed.
3. A more inspiring and noble declaration of faith was never born of human heart.
4. The reading of good books should begin in childhood.
5. Dreaming of great things will not bring us to the goal.
6. The weary seek for rest.
7. To believe in yourself is the first essential.
8. He, speaking and writing constantly for the cause, has given his life to the movement.
9. To remain ignorant is to remain a slave.
10. A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.
11. A great soul has simply nothing to do with consistency.
12. To be great is to be misunderstood.
13. Traveling is a fool's paradise.
14. It is not enough to be sincere.
15. We, seeking the truth, have found our own.
16. There are thousands of comrades with us.

THE COMPLETE PREDICATE

425. Look first in the predicate for your verb. It will always be the principal part of your predicate. It may be a verb or a verb phrase, but the first thing in analyzing the complete predicate of the sentence is to find the verb. The verb or verb phrase without any of its modifiers constitutes the simple predicate. If the verb is a complete verb, its only modifiers will be adverbs or adverb phrases. For example:

• A splendid statue of Lincoln stands yonder in the park.

In this sentence, stands yonder in the park is the complete predicate. Stands is a complete verb. It requires no object, but it is modified by the adverb yonder and by the adverb phrase in the park.

INCOMPLETE VERBS

426. If the verb in the predicate is an incomplete verb of action, then the object of the verb is also part of the predicate. The complete predicate containing an incomplete verb of action may contain five parts; a verb, a direct object, an indirect object, an adverb and an adverb phrase. As for example:

• The tailor gladly made him a coat at that time.

In this sentence, the complete predicate is gladly made him a coat at that time. Made is the verb. It is an incomplete verb of action, and coat is its direct object. Him is the indirect object. Made is also modified by the adverb gladly, and the adverb phrase, at that time.

All of these are not always used, of course, in every predicate; but these are the elements which may occur in the predicate with an incomplete verb.

THE OBJECT OF THE VERB

427. Words used as objects of a verb are practically the same as those which may be used for its subject.

We may have a noun used as the object of the verb. For example:

• Hail destroyed the crops.
• The banks rob the farmers.
• We must educate the children.
• Labor produces all wealth.

In these sentences, crops, farmers, children and wealth are nouns used as the object of the verb.

A pronoun may also be used as the object of a verb. For example:

• Will you not teach me?
• Send them to her.
• They have invited us.
• The comrades will remember him.

In the above sentences, me, them, us and him are the objects of the verbs, will teach, send, have invited and will remember.

Remember that in pronouns we have a different form for the object form, as, me, her, him, us and them.

428. An infinitive may also be used as the object of a verb, thus:

• I like to study.
• He asked to go.
• I want to learn all that I can.

In this last sentence, the infinitive, to learn, is the direct object of the verb want. The object of the infinitive, to learn, is all that I can. All of this taken together with the verb want, forms the complete predicate, want to learn all that I can.

429. The participle may also be used as the object of a verb, thus:

• We heard the thundering of the cannon.
• We enjoyed the dancing.
• Do you hear the singing of the birds?

In these sentences, the participles thundering, dancing, and singing are the objects of the verbs heard, enjoyed and do hear.

430. An adjective used as a noun may also be used as the object of a verb, thus:

• I saw the rich and the poor struggling together.
• The struggle for existence crushes the weak.
• Seek the good and the true.

In these sentences the adjectives rich, poor, weak, good and true, are used as nouns and are the objects of the verbs saw, crushes and seek.

VERBS OF STATE OR CONDITION

We have found that with the incomplete verbs of state or condition, or copulative verbs, the predicate complement may be either a noun, as, The man is a hero; or an adjective, as, The man is class-conscious; or a phrase, as, The man is in earnest.

• The predicate complement may also be:

431. A pronoun; as,

• Who is she?
• That was he.
• This is I.

In these sentences the subjects of the verbs are she, that and this, and the pronouns who, he and I are used as predicate complements.

432. Infinitives may also be used as the predicate complement, thus:

• To remain ignorant is to remain a slave.

To remain ignorant, is the subject of the copulative verb is, and the infinitive, to remain, with its complement, a slave, is the predicate complement.

433. A participle used as a noun may also be used as the predicate complement, thus:

• Society is the mingling of many elements.

Mingling, in this sentence is a participle of the verb mingle, but is used as a noun, the predicate complement of the verb is. Society is the subject of the verb.

Where the present participle is used to form a verb phrase, the participle is part of the verb phrase, thus:

• We are mingling in society.

Here, are mingling, is the present progressive verb phrase, and the participle mingling is not used as a noun or adjective, but is part of the verb phrase are mingling.

If you will observe the different parts of speech carefully, you will not be easily confused as to whether the participle is a noun or a part of the verb phrase.

Exercise 2

In the following sentences the incomplete verbs, including infinitives and participles, are in italics. Mark the words, phrases or clauses which are used as objects or complements, to complete the meaning of these verbs.

There is no such thing in America as an independent press, unless it is in the country towns.

You have it and I know it. There is not one of you who dares to write his honest opinions. If you did, you know beforehand that it would never appear in print.

I am paid $150.00 a week for keeping my honest opinions out of the paper with which I am connected. Others of you are paid similar salaries for similar things. Any one of you who would be so foolish as to write his honest opinions would be out on the streets looking for another job.

The business of the New York journalist is to destroy the truth, to lie outright, to pervert, to villify, to fawn at the feet of Mammon, and to sell his race and his country for his daily bread.

You know this and I know it. So what folly is this to be toasting an "Independent Press."

We are the tools and vassals of rich men behind the scenes. We are the jumping-jacks; they pull the strings and we dance. Our talents, our possibilities and our lives are all the property of other men. We are intellectual prostitutes.—John Swinton.

MODIFIERS OF THE SIMPLE SENTENCE

434. Remember that a simple sentence is one that contains a single statement, question or command. It is a clause, for it contains a subject and a predicate; but it contains only the one subject and the one predicate. A sentence containing two principal clauses, or a principal clause and a subordinate clause, would contain two complete statements, questions or commands, therefore it would not be a simple sentence, but compound or complex.

Remember, however, that the simple sentences may contain two or more subjects with the same predicate, or two or more predicates with the same subject, or both a compound subject and a compound predicate.

435. The modifiers in a simple sentence are always words or phrases. The modifiers of the subject are either adjectives or adjective phrases. The modifiers of the predicate are either adverbs or adverb phrases. If an adjective or an adverb clause is used as a modifier, then the sentence is no longer a simple sentence, but becomes a complex sentence, for it now contains a dependent clause.

ORDER OF ELEMENTS

436. The usual order of the principal elements in the sentence is the subject, the predicate and the object or complement, thus:

This is called the natural or logical order. Logical means according to sense or reason.

Adjectives usually stand before the nouns they modify, thus:

• Good books are helpful.

Adverbs may be placed either before or after the verbs they modify, thus:

• The men then came quickly to the rescue.

The adverb then precedes the verb came, which it modifies; and the adverb quickly is placed after the verb.

Adverbs which modify adjectives or other adverbs are placed before the words which they modify, thus:

• The more industrious students learn quite rapidly.

In this sentence, the adverb more is placed before the adjective industrious, which it modifies; and the adverb quite is placed before the adverb rapidly, which it modifies.

Adjective and adverb phrases usually follow the words which they modify, thus:

• The men in the car came quickly to the rescue.
• The manager of the mine remained with the men.

In this last sentence, the adjective phrase, of the mine, is placed after the noun manager, which it modifies, and the adverb phrase, with the men, is placed after the verb remained, which it modifies.

437. These sentences illustrate the logical order in which the elements of the sentence usually come. But this logical order is not strictly adhered to. Many times, in order to place the emphasis upon certain words, we reverse this order and place the emphasized words first, as:

• Without your help, we cannot win.

The logical order of this sentence is:

• We cannot win without your help.

But we want to place the emphasis upon your help, so we change the order of the words and place the phrase, without your help, first.

438. This inversion of the order helps us to express our thought with more emphasis. Our language is so flexible that we can express the same thought in different ways by simply changing the order of the elements in the sentence. Notice in the following sentences, the inversion of the usual order, and see what difference this makes in the expression of the thought.

• Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.
• A more terrible scene you cannot imagine.
• With the shrieking of shot and shell the battle raged.
• Louder and louder thundered the tempest.
• Silently and sadly the men returned to their homes.

To transpose these inverted sentences—that is to place the elements in their logical order, gives us an insight into the thought expressed in the sentence. It is worth a great deal to us to be able in our reading to see the live elements in the sentence at a glance, and in this way we can grasp at once the thought of the sentence. So you will find that this analyzing of the sentences is very helpful to us in our reading.

439. When we have learned to analyze a sentence quickly we will not be lost in the maze of words. A paragraph is often like a string of pearls. The author has a single thread of thought running through the different sentences which compose the paragraph and if we have trained ourselves well in sentence analysis, we will never lose this thread. It will be like a life line to which we cling while the breakers of thought and emotion roar about us.

Exercise 3

In the following poem, study carefully the inverted order of the sentences. Rewrite them, placing the elements in their logical order. As for example:

• To the poor man you've been true from of old.

The elements of the sentence are inverted in this quotation. Rewritten in their logical order this would read:

• You've been true to the poor man from of old.

You will note that this inversion is quite common in poetry.