Plain English

SPELLING

LESSON 25

You remember in our lesson in the study of consonants we found there were a number of consonants in English which had more than one sound; for example, c, s, g, x, etc.

A number of other consonants have sounds which are similar; that is, they are made with the organs of articulation in the same position, only one is a soft, and the other a hard sound; for example, p and b, t and d, f and v, etc. These sounds are called cognate sounds. Cognate means literally of the same nature, and so these sounds are of the same nature, only in one the obstruction of the vocal organs is more complete than in the other.

Our language contains a number of words in which there is a difference in the pronunciation of the final consonant when the word is used as a noun and as a verb. The final consonants in these words are the cognate sounds, f, v; t, d; th soft or th hard, s soft, or s hard. When the consonant sound is a soft sound, the word is a noun; and when the consonant sound is a hard sound the word is a verb. For example; use and use; breath and breathe; life and live, etc.

The spelling lessons for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday contain words ending in cognate sounds, in which the words ending with a soft sound are nouns and the words ending in the hard sounds are verbs. Add others to this list as they occur to you.

We have a number of words in the English beginning with ex. In some of these words, the ex has the sound of eks, and in some of the words the ex has the sound of egs. It is not easy at times to know which sound to use.

In regard to the use of ex, follow this rule: When a word beginning with ex is followed by an accented syllable beginning with a vowel, the ex is pronounced egs; in all other words ex is pronounced eks; for example, in executor, the ex is followed by an accented syllable beginning with a vowel, therefore, ex is pronounced egs. In execute, the ex is followed by an unaccented syllable beginning with a vowel, and therefore ex is pronounced eks. In explain, ex is followed by a syllable beginning with a consonant, and it is therefore pronounced eks.

Note that in words like exhibit, exhort, etc., the ex is followed by a vowel sound, the h being silent, and it is therefore, pronounced egs, for it is followed by an accented syllable beginning with a vowel sound.

The spelling list for Thursday, Friday and Saturday contains words beginning with ex. Watch carefully the pronunciation.

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

• Exile
• Except
• Exhibit
• Expert
• Exempt

Friday

• Example
• Excellent
• Exhaust
• Exit
• Expropriate

Saturday

• Exercise
• Exist
• Experiment
• Exaggerate
• Explanation

PLAIN ENGLISH

LESSON 26

Dear Comrade:

There are really two things which will come to us out of the study of grammar. One of these, which we discussed in our letter last week, is the power of logical thinking. The second is the ability to express our thoughts correctly; that is, according to accepted usage. So you can consider your spoken and written speech from two viewpoints. First, you can look to see if you have used the words correctly. We have noted these common errors especially in our study of the various parts of speech. There are certain errors we often make, as for example, using a plural noun with a singular verb, or using the past time form of the verb for the past participle.

We have noted a great many of these errors in our speech. We might make ourselves understood and express ourselves fairly accurately and still make these mistakes, but it is wise for us to try to eliminate them from our speech for several reasons. To those who understand the use of correct English, these mistakes mark us as ignorant and uneducated. No matter how important and absolutely accurate the thought we are expressing, if we make these grammatical errors, they very naturally discount our thought also. They feel that if we cannot speak correctly, in all probability we cannot think accurately, either.

Then, too, these words in our speech distract the attention of our hearers from the things which we are saying. It is like the mannerism of an actor. If he has any peculiar manner of walking or of talking and persists in carrying that into whatever character he is interpreting, we always see the actor himself, instead of the character which he is portraying. His mannerisms get in the way and interfere with our grasp of the idea.

So in music. You may be absorbed in a wonderful selection which some one is playing and if suddenly he strikes a wrong note, the discord distracts your attention and perhaps you never get back into the spirit of the music again.

So we must watch these common errors in our speech, but we must not let our study of English be simply that alone. The greatest benefit which we are deriving from this study is the analytic method of thought and the logical habit of mind, which the effort to express ourselves clearly and accurately and in well-chosen words will give us. Put as much time as you can possibly spare into this analysis of sentences. Take your favorite writer and analyze his sentences and find out what is his particular charm for you. If there is any sentence which gives you a little trouble and you cannot analyze it properly, copy it in your next examination paper and state where the difficulty lies. Rewrite the passages which please you most and then compare your version with the author's and see if you really grasped his meaning. In this way you will add quickly to your enjoyment of the writing of others and to your power of expressing yourself.

Yours for Freedom,

THE PEOPLE'S COLLEGE.

THE SIMPLE SENTENCE

440. We have been analyzing the simple sentence, which contains only words and phrases. We have found that there may enter into the simple sentence, the following elements:

1. The simple subject.
2. The simple predicate.
3. The modifiers of the subject.
4. The object of the verb.
5. The predicate complement.
6. The modifiers of the predicate.

This is not the order in which the elements will appear in the sentence, but this is the order of their importance. We first look for the simple subject and the simple predicate; then we can determine which words are the modifiers of the subject; then we find the object or predicate complement of the verb and the modifiers of the verb; and thus we have all of the elements which go into the construction of the simple sentence.

We may also have two nouns used as the subject or two verbs used in the predicate, connected by a co-ordinate conjunction, thus:

• Marx and Engels lived and worked together.

Here we have two proper nouns used as the subject, Marx and Engels. We have also two verbs used as the predicate, lived and worked. We call this a compound subject and compound predicate.

So in one simple sentence, that is a sentence which makes a single assertion, we may have every part of speech. For example:

• The most intelligent men and women think for themselves.

In this sentence, we have a noun, verb, pronoun, adjective, adverb, conjunction and preposition—every part of speech except the interjection, which is an independent element and does not enter into the construction of the sentence.

Exercise 1

Write simple sentences of your own containing:

1. A compound subject.
2. A compound predicate.
3. A noun as subject modified by one or more adjectives.
4. A noun as subject modified by a phrase.
5. An incomplete verb with a direct and an indirect object.
6. An incomplete verb with a predicate complement.
7. A predicate modified by one or more adverbs.
8. A predicate modified by an adverb phrase.

COMPLEX SENTENCES

441. The simple sentence is the unit of speech. It is a combination of words which makes a single statement, question or command. But many times a constant repetition of these short sentences would become tiresome, and our written and spoken speech would not flow as smoothly and rapidly as we desire. So we have evolved a way in which we may combine these sentences into longer statements. Let us take the two simple sentences:

• We are united.
• We shall succeed.

We may combine these into a single sentence by using the co-ordinate conjunction and. Then our sentence reads:

• We are united and we shall succeed.

This is a compound sentence, formed by uniting two simple sentences. Both of the clauses are independent and are of equal rank. Neither depends upon the other. They are united by the co-ordinate conjunction and. We can combine these sentences in a different way. For example, we may say:

• If we are united, we shall succeed.

Now we have a subordinate clause, if we are united, which is used to modify the verb of the main clause, succeed. We have used the subordinate conjunction if, and so we have a complex sentence formed by uniting the principal clause and a dependent clause.

442. The next step in sentence building, after the simple sentence, is the complex sentence. A complex sentence is a combination of two or more simple sentences, which are so united that one sentence remains the main sentence—the backbone, as it were—and the other sentence becomes subordinate or dependent upon it.

443. A complex sentence is one containing a principal clause and one or more subordinate clauses.

A principal clause is one which makes a complete statement without the help of any other clause or clauses.

A subordinate or dependent clause is one which makes a statement dependent upon or modifying some word or words in the principal clause.

KINDS OF DEPENDENT CLAUSES

444. Dependent clauses are of three kinds. They may be used either as nouns, adjectives or adverbs, and so are called noun clauses, adjective clauses or adverb clauses.

NOUN CLAUSES

445. Noun clauses are those which are used in place of a noun. They may be used in any way in which a noun may be used, except as a possessive.

1. The noun clause may be used as the subject of the sentence. For example:

• That he is innocent is admitted by all.

The clause, that he is innocent is used as a noun, the subject of the sentence.

2. The noun clause may be used as the object of a verb, thus:

• I admit that I cannot understand your argument.

The clause, that I cannot understand your argument, is in this sentence the object of the verb admit.

3. The noun clause may be used as the predicate complement, thus:

• The fact is that this policy will never win.

The clause, that this policy will never win, is here used in the predicate with the copulative verb is.

4. The noun clause may also be used in apposition, explaining the noun with which it is used, thus:

• The motion, that the question should be reconsidered, was carried.

That the question should be reconsidered, is here a noun clause, used in apposition with the noun motion, and explains the meaning of the noun.

5. The noun clause may also be used as the object of a preposition, thus:

• I now refer to what he claims.

The noun clause, what he claims, is here the object of the preposition, to.

Exercise 2

In the following sentences the noun clauses are printed in italics. Determine whether they are used as the subject, or object of the verb, as predicate complement, in apposition, or as the object of a preposition.

1. The fact is that I was not listening.
2. Whatever King Midas looked upon turned to gold.
3. He acknowledged what we had suspected.
4. We will never know what the real situation was.
5. The fact that the wage is insufficient can be easily proved.
6. He replied to what had been asked.
7. The claim was that he had made a speech inciting to riot.
8. The law that labor unions are in restraint of trade was upheld.
9. That we cannot win by compromise is readily apparent.
10. Labor demands that it shall have its full product.
11. Whoever controls education controls the future.
12. He came to where the militia was in camp.

Exercise 3

Write sentences containing noun clauses used:

1. As the subject of a verb.
2. As the object of a verb.
3. As a predicate complement.
4. In apposition.
5. As the object of a preposition.

ADJECTIVE CLAUSES

446. A dependent clause in a complex sentence may also be an adjective clause.

An adjective clause is a clause used as an adjective, and, hence, always modifies a noun or some word used as a noun, such as a pronoun or a participle. In Lesson 22, we studied adjective clauses and found that they could be introduced by the relative pronouns, who, which, that and as, and also by conjunctions such as, when, where, whither, whence, etc. An adjective clause may modify any noun or any word used as a noun in the sentence.

1. An adjective clause may modify the subject, thus:

• Men who have become class-conscious do not make good soldiers.

In this sentence the clause, who have become class-conscious, modifies the noun men, and is introduced by the relative pronoun who.

2. An adjective clause may modify the noun which is the object of the verb, as:

• The men supported the party which fought for their rights.

Here the clause, which fought for their rights, is an adjective clause introduced by the pronoun which, and it modifies the noun party, which is the object of the verb supported.

3. An adjective clause may also be used to modify the noun which is used in the predicate complement, as:

• That was the book which I enjoyed.

In this sentence the clause, which I enjoyed, is an adjective clause modifying the noun book, which is used as the predicate complement with the copulative verb was.

4. An adjective clause may also be used to modify the noun which is used as the object of a preposition, as:

• He arrived on the train which was late.

Here the adjective clause, which was late, modifies the noun train, which is the object of the preposition on.

Sometimes it is a little difficult to discover these adjective clauses, for frequently the connecting word is omitted, as for example:

• I could not find the man I wanted.

In this sentence, the pronoun whom is omitted; the complete sentence would read:

• I could not find the man whom I wanted.

Whom I wanted is an adjective clause modifying the noun man.

Exercise 4

In the following sentences the relative pronouns and the conjunctions introducing adjective clauses are omitted. Rewrite the sentences using the proper relative pronouns and conjunctions. The adjective clauses are in italics.

1. The people you are seeking are not here.
2. I have read the book you brought.
3. The articles you mentioned are not listed.
4. I will go to the place you say.
5. This is a book you should read.
6. Those are ideals the people will readily grasp.
7. We make Gods of the things we fear.
8. I listened to every word he said.
9. I should love the cause you love.
10. The things the people demand are just and right.

Exercise 5

In the following sentences the adjective clauses are all printed in italics. Determine whether they modify the subject or the object, the predicate complement or the object of the preposition.

1. In that moment when he saw the light he joined our cause.
2. Other men are lenses through which we read our own minds.
3. This is perhaps the reason why we are unable to agree.
4. He that loveth maketh his own the grandeur that he loves.
5. The other terror that scares us from self-trust is our consistency.
6. There is a popular fable of a sot who was picked up dead drunk in the street, carried to the Duke's house, washed and dressed and laid in the Duke's bed, and, on his waking, treated with all ceremony like a duke and assured that he had been insane.
7. He who would gather immortal palms must not be hindered by the name of goodness, but must explore if it be goodness.
8. Superstition, who is the mother of fear and faith, still rules many people.
9. We are looking for the time when the useful shall be the honorable.
10. He who enslaves another cannot be free.
11. He who attacks the right assaults himself.
12. The force that is in every atom and every star, in everything that grows and thinks, that hopes and suffers, is the only possible God.
13. He who adds to the sum of human misery is a blasphemer.
14. The grandest ambition that can enter the soul is the desire to know the truth.

ADVERB CLAUSES

447. The third kind of clause which we may use in a complex sentence is the adverb clause.

An adverb clause is a clause which takes the place of an adverb. It may modify a verb, an adjective, or an adverb. We studied adverb clauses in lesson 21 and we found eight classes of adverb clauses, expressing time, place, cause or reason, manner, comparison, condition, purpose and result. For example:

1. Adverb clause of time: No man is truly free until all are free.
2. Adverb clause of place: We must live where we can find work.
3. Adverb clause expressing cause or reason: We lost the strike because the men were not class-conscious.
4. Adverb clause of manner: We must work as if the result depended entirely upon us.
5. Adverb clause of comparison: The working class must become more class-conscious than it is today.
6. Adverb clause of condition: We will continue to be exploited if we do not demand our rights.
7. Adverb clause expressing purpose: We must read the labor press in order that we may know the truth concerning conditions.
8. Adverb clause expressing result: The battle raged so furiously that thousands were slain.

ANALYZING COMPLEX SENTENCES

448. To analyze a complex sentence; that is, to break it up into its different parts—treat the sentence first as a whole, then find the simple subject and the simple predicate. If a noun clause is the subject, treat it first as a noun. Treat adjective clauses as adjectives modifying certain words and the adverb clauses as adverbs modifying certain words.

In other words, analyze the sentence first as a simple sentence with dependent clauses considered as modifying words; then analyze each dependent clause as though it were a simple sentence. Make an outline like the following and use it in your analysis of the sentence. Let us take this sentence and analyze it:

• Conscious solidarity in the ranks would give the working class of the world, now, in our day, the freedom which they seek.

Simple subject, solidarity.

Simple predicate, would give.

Modifiers of the subject:

• Adjective, conscious.
• Adjective phrase, in the ranks.
• Adjective clause, (none).

Complete subject, Conscious solidarity in the ranks.

Modifiers of the predicate:

• Adverb, now.
• Adverb phrase, in our day.
• Adverb clause, (none).

Direct object, freedom.

Modifiers of direct object:

• Adjective, the.
• Adjective phrase, (none).
• Adjective clause, which they seek,

Indirect object, class.

Modifiers of indirect object:

• Adjectives, the, working.
• Adjective phrase, of the world.
• Adjective clause, (none).

Complete predicate, would give the working class of the world, now, in our day, the freedom which they seek.

Analyze the dependent clause, which they seek, just as a principal clause is analyzed. They is the simple subject, seek is the simple predicate, which is the direct object. The complete predicate is seek which.

449. Notice that the first two sentences given in the exercise below are imperative sentences,—the subject, the pronoun you, being omitted so that the entire sentence is the complete predicate. As for example: Take the place which belongs to you. The omitted subject is the pronoun you. Take the place which belongs to you is the complete predicate, made up of the simple predicate take; its object, the noun place; the adjective the, and the adjective clause, which belongs to you, both of which modify the noun place.

Exercise 6

Using the outline given above, analyze the following complex sentences.

1. Take the place which belongs to you.
2. Let us believe that brave deeds will never die.
3. The orator knows that the greatest ideas should be expressed in the simplest words.
4. Gratitude is the fairest flower that sheds its perfume in the human heart.
5. Children should be taught that it is their duty to think for themselves.
6. We will be slaves as long as we are ignorant.
7. We must teach our fellow men that honor comes from within.
8. Cause and effect cannot be severed for the effect already blooms in the cause.
9. Men measure their esteem of each other by what each has.
10. Our esteem should be measured by what each is.
11. What I must do is all that concerns me.
12. The great man is he who, in the midst of the crowd, keeps the independence of solitude.
13. The only right is what is after my constitution.
14. Whoso would be a man must be a non-conformist.
15. They who build on ideas build for eternity.

Exercise 7

We have studied all the parts of speech, and now our work is to combine these parts for the expression of thought. It will be good practice and very helpful to us to mark these different parts of speech in our reading. This helps us to grow familiar with their use. It also helps us to add words to our vocabulary and to learn how to use them correctly. In the following quotation, mark underneath each word, the name of every part of speech. Use n. for noun, v. for verb, pro. for pronoun, adv. for adverb, adj. for adjective, p. for preposition and c. for conjunction. Write v. p. under the verb phrases. For example:

Mark in this manner every part of speech in the following quotation:

The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.

Freeman and slave, patrician and plebeian, lord and serf, guildmaster and journeyman,—in a word, oppressor and oppressed,—stood in constant opposition to one another, carried on an uninterrupted, now hidden, now open fight, a fight that each time ended, either in a revolutionary re-constitution of society at large, or in the common ruin of the contending classes.

In the earlier epochs of history, we find almost everywhere a complicated arrangement of society into various orders, a manifold gradation of social rank. In ancient Rome we have patricians, knights, plebeians, slaves; in the middle ages, feudal lords, vassals, guild-masters, journeymen, apprentices, serfs; in almost all of these classes, again, subordinate gradations.

The modern bourgeois society, that has sprouted from the ruins of feudal society, has not done away with class antagonisms. It has but established new classes, new conditions of oppression, new forms of struggle in place of the old ones. —Communist Manifesto.

Exercise 8

In the following quotation, mark all of the clauses and determine whether they are dependent or independent clauses. If they are dependent clauses, determine whether they are noun, adjective or adverb clauses. Mark all the sentences and tell whether they are simple or complex.

I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me, and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. As a result of war, corporations have been enthroned, and an era of corruption in high places will follow. The money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people, until all the wealth is aggregated in a few hands, and the republic is destroyed. I feel at this moment more anxiety for the safety of our country than ever before, even in the midst of war. God grant that my forebodings may be groundless. Monarchy itself is sometimes hinted at as a refuge from the power of the people. In my present position I could scarcely be justified were I to omit to raise a warning voice against the approach of a returning despotism.... It is assumed that labor is available only in connection with capital; that nobody labors unless somebody else, owning capital, somehow, by the use of it, induces him to labor. Labor is prior to and independent of capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could not have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration. I bid the laboring people beware of surrendering the power which they possess, and which, if surrendered, will surely be used to shut the door of advancement for such as they, and fix new disabilities and burdens upon them until all of liberty shall be lost.

---

In the early days of our race the Almighty said to the first of mankind, "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread," and since then, if we except the light and air of Heaven, no good thing has been or can be enjoyed by us without first having cost labor. And inasmuch as most good things have been produced by labor, it follows that all such things belong of right to those whose labor has produced them. But it has so happened, in all ages of the world, that some have labored and others have without labor enjoyed a large portion of the fruits. This is wrong, and should not continue. To secure to each laborer the whole product of his labor, as nearly as possible, is a worthy object of any government.

---

It seems strange that any man should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing bread from the sweat of other men's faces.

---

This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. —Lincoln.

Exercise 9

In the following poem find all of the assertive, interrogative and imperative sentences. Mark all of the simple sentences and all of the complex sentences. Mark all of the dependent clauses and determine whether each is used as a noun, adjective or adverb clause. The verbs and the verb phrases are in italics.

SPELLING

LESSON 26

In our last lesson we had examples of words in which the s had the soft sound, and also of words in which the s had the sound of z. In some English words, it is difficult to determine which sound to use. There are a number of words in English beginning with dis. In a few of the words, the s has the sound of z, and in other words it has the sound of s. There are only a few words which are pronounced with the diz sound. Discern, dismal and dissolve are always pronounced with the diz sound. Disease and disaster are pronounced both ways. Some dictionaries give the diz sound and some give the dis sound.

The spelling lesson for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday contains a number of words beginning with dis. Be sure of the pronunciation. Run through the words in the dictionary beginning with the dis sound and mark those in which the dis has the sound of diz.

We have also a number of words in the English language which end in ise or ize, and we are often confused to know which ending to use. There is a rule, which has very few exceptions, which covers the use of ise and ize. Words should be spelled with the ize ending when the ize can be cut off, and the word that is left can be used alone. For example; author, authorize. In this word you can cut off the ize and the word author can be used alone. But in the word exercise, if you cut off the ise, the remaining portion cannot be used alone.

Recognize and criticise are exceptions to this rule. When used as a suffix added to a noun or adjective to form a verb, ize is the proper ending; as theory, theorize, civil, civilize, etc. Final e or y is dropped before ize, as in the words memorize, sterilize, etc.

The spelling lesson for Thursday, Friday and Saturday contains a number of common words ending with ize or ise. Study carefully this list and add as many words to it as you can.

Monday

• Disappear
• Distress
• Discern
• Disburse
• Discipline

Tuesday

• Discount
• Discredit
• Distribute
• Dismal
• Disseminate

Wednesday

• Disguise
• Distance
• Dissolve
• Discontent
• Disposition

Thursday

• Franchise
• Civilize
• Surprise
• Organize
• Compromise

Friday

• Monopolize
• Revise
• Legalize
• Enterprise
• Capitalize

Saturday

• Memorize
• Advertise
• Theorize
• Comprise
• Systematize

PLAIN ENGLISH

LESSON 27

Dear Comrade:

Ingersoll said: "Words are the garments of thought and the robes of ideas." This is a beautiful and poetic way of expressing the relationship between words and thoughts. Words are really the body which we give to our thoughts. Until they are clothed in words, our thoughts are only ghosts of ideas. Other people cannot see or come into contact with them, and they can have but little influence upon the world.

Without thought, no language is possible. It is equally true that without language, no growth of thought is possible. It is futile to try to determine which is first, language or thought. The two are entirely necessary to each other and make possible social and individual development.

Every time that you add a word to your vocabulary, you have added to your mental equipment. You have also added greatly to your power of enjoyment. Through these words you will come into a new relationship to your fellow men. Each new word enlarges the circle of your acquaintance. A knowledge of language brings us into a circle of wonderful friends. When we have learned to read we need never more be lonely. Some one has written in a book somewhere just the thing we are hungry for at this moment.

In the pages of a book we can meet and talk with the great souls who have written in these pages their life's experience. No matter what mood you are in, you can find a book to suit that mood. No matter what your need, there is a book which meets that need. Form the habit of reading and you will find it a wonderful source of pleasure and of profit.

Nor do we need to be barred because of our lack of educational advantages in our youth. Buckle, the author of the greatest history that has ever been written, left school at the age of fourteen, and it is said that at that age, except a smattering of mathematics, he knew only how to read; but when he died at the age of forty, this man, who did not know his letters when he was eight years old, could read and write seven languages and was familiar with ten or twelve more. He had written a wonderful book and had become a teacher of teachers. Engraven upon his marble altar tomb is the following couplet:

Good books are so cheap nowadays that they are within the reach of every one of us. Let us not be content to live in the narrow world of work and worry. Let us forget the struggle occasionally in the reading of books, and let us prepare ourselves, by reading and studying, for the battle for the emancipation of the workers of the world.

Yours for Education,

THE PEOPLE'S COLLEGE.

KINDS OF SENTENCES

450. A simple sentence is a sentence which makes a single assertion, question or command.

The simple sentence contains only words and phrases.

451. A complex sentence is one which contains a principal statement and one or more modifying statements.

The statements made in addition to the principal statement are made in dependent clauses. The complex sentence has only one main clause and one or more dependent clauses.

452. A compound sentence is one which contains two or more independent clauses.

These compound sentences may contain any number of dependent clauses but they must always have at least two independent or principal clauses. These principal clauses are always connected by co-ordinate conjunctions, for the principal clauses in a compound sentence are always of equal rank or order.

Exercise 1

Review the lesson on co-ordinate conjunctions and notice which conjunctions are used to unite principal clauses into single sentences. Use these co-ordinate conjunctions to unite the following pairs of simple sentences into compound sentences. For example:

• The sun rises and the day dawns.
• The men work but the boys play.

Take the above sentences and use subordinate instead of co-ordinate conjunctions, and make complex sentences instead of compound out of each pair of simple sentences. For example:

• When the sun rises, the day dawns.
• The men work while the boys play.

KINDS OF COMPOUND SENTENCES

453. Compound sentences may be made up of two simple sentences.

Rewrite the following compound sentences, making of each sentence two simple sentences:

• The birds are singing and spring is here.
• He believes in war but his brother is against it.
• We must arouse ourselves or we shall be involved.
• He will not study nor will he allow any one else to study.

454. A compound sentence may be made up of a simple sentence and a complex sentence, joined by a co-ordinate conjunction. For example:

• John goes to school, but Mary stays at home in order that she may help her mother.

This compound sentence is made up of the simple sentence, John goes to school, and the complex sentence, Mary stays at home in orderthat she may help her mother.

455. Both parts of the compound sentence may be complex; that is, both principal clauses in a compound sentence may contain dependent clauses. For example:

• John goes to school where his brother goes, but Mary stays at home in order that she may help her mother.

This compound sentence is made up of two complex sentences. The sentence, John goes to school where his brother goes, is complex because it contains the dependent clause, where his brother goes; the sentence, Mary stays at home in order that she may help her mother, is complex because it contains the dependent clause, in order that she may help her mother.

Exercise 2

Read carefully the following sentences, determine which are simple sentences, which are complex and which are compound.

1. When the state is corrupt, then the laws are most multiplied.
2. To teach the alphabet is to inaugurate revolution.
3. Freedom degenerates unless it has to struggle in its own defense.
4. The destroyers have always been honored.
5. Liberty of thought is a mockery if liberty of speech is denied.
6. Where slavery is, there liberty cannot be; and where liberty is, there slavery cannot be.
7. All our greatness was born of liberty and we cannot strangle the mother without destroying her children.
8. In the twentieth century, war will be dead, but man will live.
9. The abuse of free speech dies in a day, but the denial entombs the hope of the race.

SENTENCE ANALYSIS

456. There is no more important part of the study of English than the analysis of sentences. The very best result that can come to one from the study of grammar is the logical habit of mind. The effort to analyze a difficult passage gives us a fuller appreciation of its meaning. This cultivates in us accuracy, both of thought and of expression. So, spend as much time as you can on the analysis of sentences.

The subject and the predicate are the very body of the sentence, upon which all the rest of the sentence is hung. The other parts of the sentence are but the drapery and the garments which clothe the body of the sentence. Hence, the most important thing in sentence analysis is to be able to discover the subject and predicate.

In the expression of a thought, there are always two important essentials, that about which something is said,—which constitutes the subject,—and that which is said about the subject, which constitutes the predicate.

There may be a number of modifying words, phrases or subordinate clauses, but there is always a main clause which contains a simple subject and a simple predicate. Find these first, and you can then fit the modifying words and phrases and clauses into their proper places.

457. Let us take for study and analysis the following paragraph from Jack London:

Man's efficiency for food-getting and shelter-getting has not diminished since the day of the cave-man. It has increased a thousand-fold. Wonderful artifices and marvelous inventions have been made. Why then do millions of modern men live more miserably than the cave-man lived?

Let us take the first sentence out of this paragraph and analyze it. Man's efficiency for food-getting and shelter-getting has not diminished since the day of the cave-man. What is the main word in this sentence—the word about which the entire statement is made? Clearly it is the word efficiency. Efficiency is the noun which is the subject of the sentence.

Then you might ask what sort of efficiency and whose efficiency? What sort of efficiency is explained by the adjective phrase, for food-getting and shelter-getting. Whose efficiency is explained by the possessive noun, man's. Therefore, the complete subject is, Man's efficiency for food-getting and shelter-getting.

Now we are ready to consider the predicate. What has efficiency done? It has not diminished. Has diminished is the verb phrase, which is the simple predicate of this sentence. It is modified by the adverb not, so we have Man's efficiency has not diminished. Then we might ask, when has it not diminished? And this is answered by the phrase, since the day of the cave-man. So we have our complete predicate, Has not diminished since the day of the cave-man.

In this way we can analyze or break up into its different parts, every sentence. First find the subject, then ask what that subject does, and the answer will be the predicate or verb. Do not confuse the verb with the words which state how or why the action is performed, and do not confuse the verb with the object of the action. The verb simply asserts the action. The other words will add the additional information as to how or why or when or upon whom the action was performed.

Let us finish the analysis of the sentences in the paragraph quoted from Jack London. In the second sentence, It has increased a thousand-fold, the personal pronoun it, which refers to the noun efficiency, is the subject of the sentence; and when you ask what it has done, you find that the question is answered by the verb, has increased. Therefore, has increased is the verb in the sentence. The noun, thousand-fold is used as an adverb telling how much it has increased. It is an adverb-noun, which you will find explained in Section 291.

In the next sentence, Wonderful artifices and marvelous inventions have been made, we find two nouns about which a statement is made.Artifices have been made and inventions have been made; so artifices and inventions are both the subjects of the sentence. Therefore, we have a compound subject with a single verb, have been made. Artifices is modified by the adjective wonderful, and inventions is modified by the adjective marvelous, so we have wonderful artifices and marvelous inventions, as the complete subject, and have been made, as the complete predicate.

In the last sentence, Why then do millions of modern men live more miserably than the cave-man lived?, we find a sentence which is a trifle more difficult of analysis. It is written in the interrogative form. If you find it difficult to determine the subject and the verb or verb phrase in an interrogative sentence, rewrite the sentence in the assertive form, and you will find it easier to analyze.

When we rewrite this sentence we have, Millions of modern men do live more miserably than the cave-man lived. Now it is evident that the noun millions is the subject of the sentence. We see quickly that men cannot be the subject because it is the object of the preposition of, in the phrase, of modern men. So we decide that the noun millions is the simple subject.

When we ask the question what millions do, our question is answered by the verb phrase, do live. So do live is the simple predicate, and the skeleton of our sentence, the simple subject and the simple predicate, is millions do live. The subject millions is modified by the adjective phrase of modern men.

Then we ask, how do men live? And we find our question answered by they live miserably. But we are told how miserably they live by the adverb more and the adverb clause, than the cave-man lived, both modifying the adverb miserably. So we have our complete predicate, do live more miserably than the cave-man lived.

This interrogative sentence is introduced by the interrogative adverb why.

Do not drop this subject until you are able to determine readily the subject and predicate in every sentence and properly place all modifying words. There is nothing that will so increase your power of understanding what you read, and your ability to write clearly, as this facility in analyzing sentences.

Exercise 3

The following is Elbert Hubbard's description of the child-laborers of the Southern cotton-mills. Read it carefully. Notice that the sentences are all short sentences, and the cumulative effect of these short sentences is a picture of the condition of these child-workers which one can never forget. The subjects and predicates are in italics. When you have finished your study of this question, rewrite it from memory and then compare your version with the original version.

I thought that I would lift one of the little toilers. I wanted to ascertain his weight. Straightway through his thirty-five pounds of skin and bone there ran a tremor of fear. He struggled forward to tie a broken thread. I attracted his attention by a touch. I offered him a silver dime. He looked at me dumbly from a face that might have belonged to a man of sixty. It was so furrowed, tightly drawn and full of pain. He did not reach for the money. He did not know what it was. There were dozens of such children in this particular mill. A physician who was with me said that they would probably all be dead in two years. Their places would be easily filled, however, for there were plenty more. Pneumonia carries off most of them. Their systems are ripe for disease and when it comes there is no rebound. Medicine simply does not act. Nature is whipped, beaten, discouraged. The child sinks into a stupor and dies.

Exercise 4

In the following sentences, mark the simple sentences, the complex sentences and the compound sentences, and analyze these sentences according to the rules given for analyzing simple sentences, complex sentences and compound sentences:

1. Force is no remedy.
2. Law grinds the poor, and the rich men rule the law.
3. Force and fraud are in war the two cardinal virtues.
4. Freedom is a new religion, a religion of our time.
5. Desire nothing for yourself which you do not desire for others.
6. An ambassador is a man who goes abroad to lie for the good of his country.
7. A journalist is a man who stays at home to pursue the same vocation.
8. Without free speech no search for truth is possible.
9. Liberty for the few is not liberty.
10. Liberty for me and slavery for you mean slavery for both.
11. No revolution ever rises above the intellectual level of those who make it.
12. Men submit everywhere to oppression when they have only to lift their heads to throw off the yoke.
13. Many politicians of our time are in the habit of saying that no people ought to be free till they are fit to use freedom. The maxim is worthy of the fool in the old story who resolved not to go into the water till he had learned to swim. If men are to wait for liberty till they become wise and good in slavery they may indeed wait forever.

SUMMARY

458. The following is a summary of that which we have learned in sentence building:

459.

ESSENTIALS OF A SIMPLE SENTENCE

460.

THE SUBJECT

Modifiers of the Subject

461.

THE PREDICATE

462. Take the simple subjects and simple predicates in Exercise 5, and build up sentences; first, by adding a word, then a phrase and then a clause to modify the subject; then add a word and a phrase and a clause to modify the predicate.

So long as you have only words and phrases you have simple sentences. When you add a dependent clause you have a complex sentence. When you unite two independent clauses in one sentence, then you have a compound sentence, and the connecting word will always be a co-ordinate conjunction. These will be readily distinguished for there are only a few co-ordinate conjunctions.

Go back to the lesson on co-ordinate conjunctions and find out what these are, and whenever you find two clauses connected by these co-ordinate conjunctions you know that you have a compound sentence. Remember that each clause must contain a subject and predicate of its own. When you have two words connected by these co-ordinate conjunctions you do not have a clause. Each clause must contain a subject and a predicate of its own.

463. Here is an example of a sentence built up from a simple subject and a simple predicate:

SIMPLE SUBJECT ENLARGED

Simple Subject and Predicate—Soldiers obey.

Adjectives added—The enlisted soldiers obey.

Phrase added—The enlisted soldiers in the trenches obey.

Clause added—The enlisted soldiers in the trenches, who are doomed to die, obey.

SIMPLE PREDICATE ENLARGED

Simple Subject and Predicate—Soldiers obey.

Object added—Soldiers obey orders.

Adverb added—Soldiers obey orders quickly.

Phrase added—Soldiers obey orders quickly and without question.

Clause added—Soldiers obey orders quickly and without question because they are taught to do so.

Combining our enlarged subject and predicate we have the sentence:

• The enlisted soldiers in the trenches, who are doomed to die, obey orders quickly and without question because they are taught to do so.

This is a complex sentence because it contains dependent clauses. We might add another independent clause and make of this a compound sentence. For example:

• The enlisted soldiers in the trenches, who are doomed to die, obey orders quickly and without question because they are taught to do so, and this is patriotism.

Exercise 5

Enlarge the following simple subjects and simple predicates:

• Men write.
• Boys play.
• People study.
• The law rules.

Exercise 6

In the following poem underscore all of the dependent clauses. Determine whether they are noun, adjective or adverb clauses. Do you find any simple or compound sentences in this poem?