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.......