'^"TLINE RnctUsh Grammar •JiK E. LaBAF Mamt: of Student Dati CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY FROM C.S.Northap arW9745 °"""' """"""y Lrbrary S!i,fe„.°L.E.nglish grammar. o.in,an? ^^24 031 428 836 Cornell University Library The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924031428836 OUTLINE English Grammar AMIE E. LaBARRE INSTRUCTOR IN ENGUSH, ITHACA HIGH SCHOOI, noK rjo ITHACA, NEW YORK 1906 Copyright, 1906 by Amie E. I^aBarre All rights reserved ITHACA, N. Y. PRESS OF ANDRUS & CHURCH PREFACE. This little book is intended merely as an outline of English Grammar. It has been the aim of the writer so to arrange the subject matter as to form a good basis for more advanced work in the grammar of English and of other languages. For this reason, whenever a choice of terms has been offered, the one chosen has been the one common to all grammar, rather than the one used by a few writers up- on English grammar. This lessens the difficulties which meet a student in his first work in foreign languages with- out adding to those of beginners in English grammar. Much of the work here given should not be taught to an eighth grade ; the book is intended for first year students in the High School also. Acknowledgements of indebted- ness should be made to several text books upon English and also to other English teachers for their helpful sug- gestions. Ithaca, N. Y., March 20, 1906. CONTENTS, The Sentence— Simple and Complex i The Sentence — Compound 5 Composition Work 5 Outline of the Use of Capital Letters 6 Punctuation : 7 Dictionary Work 8 General Rules for Composition 8 Letter Writing 9 Transformation of Elements lo Combination Work ii Dictation Work ii Parts of Speech ii Nouns 21 Pronouns 22 Verbs 22 Adjectives . 30 Adverbs 33 Prepositions 34 Conjunctions - 34 Interjections 35 Number Forms — Appendix 36 Gender Nouns — ^Appendix 40 OUTLINE OF ENGLISH GRAMMAR The Sentence. The complete statement of a thought forms a sentence. The parts of a sentence are : — complete subject and complete predicate. Kinds of Sentences. I. As to Meaning. 1. Declarative. 3. Exclamatory. 2. Interrogative. 4. Imperative. II. As to Structure. 1. Simple. 3. Compound. 2. Complex. Modifiers. The essential subject with its modifiers forms the com- plete subject. The predicate with its modifiers forms the complete predicate. Modifiers are of three kinds : word, phrase, and clause. I. Word modifiers are either adjectives or adverbs. II. Phrase modifiers are adjective or adverbial as to use ; as to form, however, they may be prepositional, participial, infinitive, or gerund. Note. — Phrases also have a noun use. Note. — Any group of words so related as to express an idea but not a complete thought, may be called a phrase ; but for grammatical study only those mentioned need our attention. A phrase differs from a clause in that it has no subject and predicate. (For participial, infinitive, and gerund phrases, see verbs. ) As to meaning, a prepositional phrase may express means, manner, instrument, time, source, place in which, limit of motion, agency, accompaniment, the dative idea, and the genitive idea. Note. — Pupils should be exercised in changing phrase elements to word and clause elements. III. Clause Modifiers and Complex Sentences. 1. Any part of a sentence containing a subject and a predicate is a clause. Its meaning may be complete, or it may depend upon some other part of the sentence. 2. A sentence which contains a main clause and one or more dependent (subordinate) clauses is complex. a. Subordinate clauses are of three kinds : adjective, adverbial and noun. 3. Adjective clau.ses. An adjective clause is one performing the work of an adjective to modify a noun or a pronoun. Adjective clauses may be either restrictive or unrestrictive. The connectives of adjective clauses are either relative pronouns or relative (conjunctive) adverbs. Occasionally the connective is omitted and sometimes the antecedent is omitted. The relative who refers to persons ; which to animals or things ; that to persons, animals, or things. ( That, the relative, can always be changed to who or which.') While there is no established rule for the use of the rela- tive that, it is usually preferred (i) in restrictive clauses, (2) after the superlative degree of adjectives, (3) after the interrogative who. 4. Adverbial clauses. An adverbial clause is one performing the work of an adverb to modify a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. a. A clause used to tell when a thing exists or is done is a temporal clause. Connectives : when, as, before, until, after, and other adverbs of time. b. A clause used to tell where a thing existsor is done is a clause of place. Connective : adverb where. c. A clause used to tell how a thing exists or is done is a clause of manner. Connectives : adverbs as, asif,as.. . so. d. A clause used to express degree or comparison is a degree clause. Connectives : adverbs than, as . . . as, so . . . as, the . . . the. Note. — Degree clauses are usually much abridged. Ex. He is taller than John (is tall). e. A clause used to tell the cause or reason of an act is causal. Connectives : conjunctions because, as since, for. Note. — For sometimes introduces a clause of evidence. Ex. It has stormed for the ground is wet. /. A clause used to express a condition is a conditional clause. Connectives : conjunctions if, unless, provided that. Note. — Conditions are of two kinds : true conditions and suppositions. Z- A clause that grants or allows that a thing may be true is a concessional clause. Connectives : conjunctions though and although. (The compound relatives are some- times used to introduce concessional clauses.) h. A clause used to express the result of an action is a result clause. It usually follows an independent clause containing the word so or the word such. Connectives : conjunctions that a.nd so that. i. A clause used to express the purpose of an action is a purpose clause. Connectives : conjunctions that and so that. (Table of Connectives, see Foster's "Syllabus of English Grammar. ' ' ) 5. Noun Clauses. A noun clause performs the work of a noun. It may be used as the subject, the object of a verb or a preposition, as an appositive, or as a predicate noun. Note. — Certain adjectives which require a preposition to show their relation to the following noun or pronoun are followed by a noun clause without the preposition ; some of these are anxious, sure, certain, satisfied, aware. This is al- so true in the case of a few verbs. The verbs say and answer, and verbs of kindred meaning, are often followed by a noun clause in the form of a quota- tion. The connective of a noun clause may be omitted, or it may be a conjunction. (A noun clause is often introduced by an interrogative pronoun or an interrogative adverb. ) Summary. I. Phrases. 1. Kinds as to form. a. Prepositional. b. Participial. c. Infinitive. d. Gerund. 2. Kinds as to use. a. Adjective. b. Adverbial. c. Noun. I. Clauses. I. Kinds. a. Adjective b. Noun 3. Kinds as to meaning. a. Means. b. Instrument. c. Agency. d. lyimit of motion. e. Place in which. f. Source. g. Accompaniment. k. Dative. i. Genitive. j. Purpose. Syntax of phrases Form. Meaning. Use in sentence. j Restrictive I Unrestrictive Subject Object of verb or preposition Appositive Predicate Noun Temporal Place Manner Degree c. Adverbial { Causal Conditional Concessional Result Purpose Connectives of Clauses. . f Relative Pronouns J ve I Relative Adverbs Note. — Much time .should be spent in changing clausesto phrases. The position of the clause with reference to the word it modifies should receive attention f Conjunctions I Adverbs c. Noun (Conjunctions 3. Syntax of Clauses. Class Subclass Use Compound Sentences. I. Two or more statements which are grammatically in- dependent are often so closely related in thought that they are joined, either with or without a connective, 'into one sentence. A sentence made up of two or more independent statements is compound. II. Connectives. The clauses of a compound sentence are usually joined by conjunctions, although conjunctive adverbs are some- times used. Often there is no connective expressed. The exact meaning of coordinate connectives needs careful study. There are three kinds as to meaning : copulative, adversative, and alternative. III. Relationship as to Meaning between Clauses of Compound Sentences. 1. The thoughts expressed by the clauses ma'y be of a similar nature ; if so, a copulative connective is needed. 2. The thoughts may express a contrast ; if so, an adver- sative connective is needed. 3. The thoughts may be such that a choice is either offered or denied ; if so, an alternative connective is needed. Note. — Excellent material for sentence analysis is con- tained in Willis's "Two Thousand Sentences for Analysis." Composition Work. Drill upon correct forms until the pupil uses them readily and naturally. I. He may (can, must, might, could, would, should) have studied (recited, played). 2. I did my lesson. I have done the work. 3. He ought to go. Oughtn't he? 4. I have come twice. I came this morning. 5. May I clo'se the door ? May I whisper? 6. I shall go to-morrow. I shall study (play, sing). 7. He may have gone. He has gone home. We have gone often. 8. Each of these is correct. Neither of these is right. 9. It is I (he, she). It was I (he, she). ID. You were here. Were you going? 11. Whom did you see ? 12. I have no book. I haven't any book. 13. Haven't you a book ? 14. He is almost here. They went a long way. 15. He went with John and me. 16. They spoke to Mary and me. They saw brother and me. 17. He expected to go Monday. 18. I intended to give you several problems. 19. I saw John. I have seen John. Note. — To these should be added any sentences which the class cannot use correctly. Outline for the use of Capital Letters. ca. Of a sentence. I. First Words. \b. Of a line of Poetry. \.c. Of a direct quotation. ' a. Proper adjectives. b. Names relating to the Deity. c. Names of days of the week. d. Names of months of the year. e. Names of the Bible. /. Names of religious sects, politi- cal parties. g. Names of great historic events, movements, documents. Note. — When several words are taken together as one proper name, all the chief words begin with capitals. This applies also to titles. II. Proper Names : This includes I. The comma should be used to set off III. The words /and O are always capitals. IV. The words North, South, East and West, when ap- plied to sections of the country, are treated as proper nouns. V. The name of a thing personified often begins with a capital. Punctuation. 1. The period. C a. Declarative sentence. I. The period follows \ b. Imperative sentence. ^c. Abbreviations. II. The comma. ' a. Independent expressions. b. Names used in direct address. c. Words ■) 4. c ii. • Phrase V °"* °^ ^'^^"^ X ill ctac r j_ 1 J ^, I natural order. Clauses J d. Unrestrictive phrases and clauses. e. Added phrases and clauses. Note. — The abbreviation,f^c.,shouldbeset off by commas, etc., 2. Words, phrases, or clauses in a series should be sep- arated from each other-by commas unless all the conjunctions are expressed. 3. Short and closely connected clauses of a compound sentence are usually separated from each other by a comma. III. The Semicolon. I. The semicolon separates the independent clauses of a compound sentence : (i) When the connective is omitted. (2) When the clauses already contain commas within them- selves. (3) When the clauses are not closely connected. (4) When the conjunction is but. IV. The Colon. I. The colon is sometimes used to separate the main clauses of a compound sentence when the second clause is a restatement or a summing up of the thought contained in the first. 8 2. The colon is used to separate an enumeration of par- ticulars from the words that precede it. V. Quotations and Quotation Marks. 1. A short quotation not formally introduced is separated from the words preceding it by a comma. 2. A quotation formally introduced is preceded by the colon. 3. All direct quotations are enclosed within quotation marks. 4. A quotation within a quotation is enclosed within single quotation marks. (Drill is needed upon writing broken quotations.) VI. Interrogation Mark. I. Every interrogative sentence is followed by an inter- rogation mark. VII. Exclamation Mark. I . Every exclamatory sentence or exclamatory expression is followed by an exclamation mark. VIII. The Dash. I. An abrupt change of thought is indicated by the dash. IX. Parentheses. I . Expressions introduced into a sentence but having no connection with it in thought are enclosed in marks of parentheses. Dictionary ^Vork, lycsson I. Kinds of information found in a dictionary. Lesson II. Diacritical marks and accents. Lesson III. Most common abbreviations found in a dictionary : e.g., tr., adj., obs., arch. Lessons IV. and V. The best way to look up words and find out their meaning. Some General Composition Rules. I. Avoid the use of abbreviations or characters in the body of a composition. Write out numbers less than one thousand, except in giving statistics, or the year of the century. II. See that pronouns agree with their antecedents. III. See that verbs agree with their subjects. IV. Avoid changing tense in the main clauses unless the the sequence of tenses demands it. V. Avoid the use of would for the past indicative. VI. Avoid stringing sentences together by the connective and ; change to a complex or to a simple sentence if possible. 'a. Parenthetical expressions. b. Dangling participle. VII. Avoid ■{ f.Closingsentencewith an unimportant word. d. A string of adjective clauses. e. Frequent use of get, sort, things, lots. VIII. Place only where there can be no doubt what it modifies. IX. Remember that and joins words, phrases and clauses used alike in a sentence. Letter Writing and Notices, I. Parts of a Letter. r Street and number. 1 . Heading -< City or town and State, C Date of writing. 2. Address of receiver. r Friendly. 3. Salutation \ (^Business. 4. Body of the letter. r Friendly. 5. Complimentary Close \ ( Business. 6. Signature of writer. II. Kinds of Letters and Notices. I . Business forms. lO a. Orders for supplies and acknowledgments of orders. b. lyCtters of application. c. Letters of recommendation. d. Telegrams. rlvost e. Advertiisements X Found. (wanted. /. Notices. 2. Friendly forms. a. Letters and notes of friendship. b. Letters and notes of acknowledgement. c. "Letters and notes of congratulation or sympathy. d. Letters of introduction. 3. Invitations and Acknowledgements of Invitations. T £ t 1 C Invitation I. Informal | ) . Note. — Letter paper should be used and the proper folding of both business and friendly letters taught. Transformation of Elements. I. A word element may often be transformed to a phrase or to a clause. II. Phrase elements and clause elements may often be transformed to a single word without changing the meaning of the sentence. III. Infinite and participial phrase elements may often be changed to clause elements. Note. — Such phrases may often be changed to phrases of another kind. IV. Compound sentences may often be transformed to complex sentences by changing one independent clause to a subordinate clause. Note. — Such change usually produces a better English sentence, and it leaves the reader in no doubt as to what is the main thought in the .sentence. II V. Compound sentences may often be changed to simple sentences by changing the verbs of all the independent clauses except one to the participial form. Note. — That form of sentence is usually the best English which expresses the thought in the fewest words. The good writer expresses in few words what the poor writer ex- presses in many. Much time should be devoted to this part of the language work. Excellent material for such class work is found in Chittenden's " Elements of English Composition," pp. 40-48. Note. — The pupil should be exercised in changing declarative sentences to interrogative, exclamatory, and imperative forms. Combination ^A^ork. A paragraph of short, disconnected statements shows that the pupil has not yet had developed within him a sense of proportion. To develop this sense is of the greatest im- portance. One of the best aids is frequent work in com- bining into simple or complex sentences a series of short related statements. Excellent material for this work can be found in Foster's " Syllabus of English Grammar," pp. 102-104, and in Chittenden's " Elements of English Compo- sition," pp. 77-80. Dictation. All grammars have excellent material for daily work in dictation. Only by means of dictation can accurate punctu- ation and capitalization be taught. The pupil should punctuate as he writes, and not be allowed to read his paper through and insert the marks after the dictation has been read. (Ten minutes devoted daily to dictation is worth more than thirty minutes devoted to formal parsing. ) Parts of Speech. A. Nouns. A word u.sed as a name is a noun. 12 I. Classes of nouns. 1. When a name can be applied to each one of a group of objects that name is a common noun. 2. When any one of a group of objects is designated by a name which applies to it alone, that special name is a proper noun. Ex. — Common nouns. Proper nouns. boy James dog Carlo horse Gyp city Ithaca Note. — All nouns are either common or proper. 3. Certain nouns, even in the singular number, denote a collection of objects. The objects which go to make up this collection must always be of the same kind. Ex.— Collective nouns. Collection made up of — team horses army ' soldiers school students 4. A noun which names a quality, a condition, an action, or a state of being is an abstract noun. Abstract nouns naming qualities are generally formed by adding ness to qualifying adjectives ; those naming actions are generally formed by adding Hon to verbs, while many denoting state of being are formed by adding hood to nouns . a few abstract nouns are formed by adding th or dom to adjectives. Examples. Qualifying adjectives. Abstract nouns. good goodness faithful faithfulness Verbs. act action attend attention Nouns. man manhood 5. Nouns which name objects belonging either to the male or the female sex are called gender nouns. 13 a. Nouns denoting the male sex are of the masculine gender. b. Nouns denoting the female sex are of the feminine gender. Note. — A large number of gender nouns have the .same form for both genders ; in general, however, gender nouns ending in er and or are masculine, while those ending in ess and trix are feminine. Some nouns are entirely different in the masculine and feminine, while others designate gen- der by compounding a word whose gender is not known with one whose gender is known. Example. Masculine. Feminine. Masculine. Feminine, count countess boy girl waiter waitress bachelor maid tailor tailoress he-bear she-bear executor executrix B. Pronouns. A word which takes the place of a noun is a pronoun. The word whose place the pronoun takes is the antecedent of the pronoun. I. Classes of pronouns. I. Personal. A pronoun which takes the place of a person's name is a personal pronoun. a. The pronoun which take the place of the .speaker's name is the first personal pronoun. Ex. — I, we. b. The pronoun which takes the place of the name of the person spoken to is the second personal pronoun. Ex. — You, thou, ye. c. The pronouns which take the place of the name of the person talked about are the third personal pronouns. Ex. — He, she, it, they. The simple personal pronouns are the various forms of I, thou, you, he, she, it, they. The simple pronouns are often compounded with the word self to form the compound personals. Ex. — Myself, ourselves, etc. 14 These compound personals are used either as emphasizing pronouns, or reflexively. Ex. — I did it myself. (Emphasizing.) He hurt himself. (Reflexive.) 2. Interrogative. A pronoun whose chief use is to throw the sentence into the interrogative form is an interrogative pronoun. The interrogative pronouns are who, which, what. 3. Relative pronouns. A relative pronoun performs a double oflBce ; it is both a pronoun and a connective. As a connective, it joins an adjective clause to the word it modifies ; as a pronoun, it takes the place of a noun. The simple relatives 2x&who, which, ihai and what; the compound relatives are whoever, whosoever, whatever, whatsoever, whichever, whichsoever. The simple relative what and the compound relatives contain their antecedents within themselves, what ) whoever \ whatever >■ = that which >■ = he who whatsoever ) whosoever j whichever ) >- = that which whichsoever ) (Students sometimes have difi&culty in distinguishing between the simple relatives and the interrogatives, especi- ally when the interrogative introduces a noun clause. They should bear in mind that the antecedent of an interrogative pronoun is always found in the answer to the question asked or implied, while the antecedent to a relative pronoun is always expressed or understood in the sentence in which the pronoun stands. ) Ex. — He asked which it was. Antecedent in answer. The book which you saw is mine. Antecedent in sentence. 4. Adjective pronouns. Certain limiting adjectives are often used to supply the place of the nouns which they limit ; when so used, they are adjective pronouns. 15 The principal adjective pronouns are the ( i ) distributives : each, either, neither ; (2) demonstratives : this, that, these, those, and (3) the indefinites : any, many, some, several, etc. II. Uses of nouns and pronouns. With the exception of the relative pronouns, which are also connectives, the uses of nouns and pronouns are the same. Note. — Interrogative pronouns sometimes are used as connectives of noun clauses. 1. Subject. Its position in the sentence. a. The subject usually precedes its verb. b. For the sake of emphasis the following methods are often employed to throw the subject after its verb : The sentence is introduced by the expletives there and it ; by adverbs ; by adverbial phrases. Sometimes the subject is placed between the auxiliary and the main verb ; this is especially true of interrogative and exclamatory sentences. 2. Predicate nouns. A noun which completes the meaning of the verb and renames the subject is a predicate noun. {a) A predicate noun may complete the meaning of any intransitive verb which expresses state of being ; but the following, with verbs of similar meaning, occur most fre- quentlyin this construction : be, become, seem, look, appear, retnain, continue. Ex. — He remained leader. ((5) The predicate noun often follows the passive voice of a transitive verb. Ex. — The state was named New York. 3. Independent nouns. A noun is often used independently in exclamation, or to call attention, or in direct address. 4. Nominative absolute. A noun, together with a modifying participle, adjective, or phrase, may be used independently. Such expressions have the meaning of a subordinate clause, but lack the con- i6 nective to join them to the rest of the sentence. Some authorities condemn this use, while others allow it, but with great caution. In the following sentence, there is no way of deciding whether the nominative absolute has the meaning of a temporal or of a causal clause : The supplies failing, the general surrendered. 5. Possessive or genitive modifiers. A noun may be used to denote possession, suitability or origin. This relationship is expressed by the means of the 's or the ' alone. Rule. — Add 's to all singular nouns and to all plural nouns not already ending in i : to all plurals ending in s add the apostrophe (') only. Example. — Boy's, boys'. Man's, Men's. Exception. — The apostrophe only is added to a few ancient proper names in es, and to the name Jesus. The apostrophe only is used in a few such phrases as "/or conscience' sake," " for goodness' sake." Possession is also denoted by phrases beginning with of or belonging to. Of is generally used with words denoting things, while the possessive sign (') is used with words de- noting animals and people. It is always best, however, to choose that form which is most pleasing to the ear. 6. Object of a preposition. A noun may be used as the principal word in a preposi- tional phrase. 7. Direct Object. A noun used to complete the meaning of a transitive verb and name that which receives the act performed by the subject is the direct object of the verb. 8. Indirect or Dative Object. A noun used after a transitive verb to name the person or thing indirectly influenced by the act expressed by the verb, or in whose interest the act is performed, is an indirect object. Note.—Kn indirect or dative object is usually equivalent to a prepositional phrase introduced by to or for its regu- lar position is between the verb and its object. I? Note. — The dative originally had a special case ending. The following verbs are the ones most commonly followed by the indirect or dative object : Give, promise, send, tell, permit and lend. 9. Retained Object. The direct object and the dative object follow the active voice of a transitive verb. The active voice may be changed to the passive by using either the object or the dative object for the subject of the new sentence : this leaves one object with its relationship to the verb unchanged, so it is called the kept or retained object. Ex. — a. He taught w\e. grammar. In this sentence there are both a dative and a direct object. b. I was taught grammar. Grammar becomes the retained object. c. Grammar was taught me. Me becomes the retained dative object. Note. — The retained object after the passive voice can easily be distinguished from the predicate noun after a passive voice, as it means a different person or thing from the subject. Ex. — a. I was given a book. Retained object. b. He was considered a model. Predicate noun. 10. Adverbial Objective (Accusative). A noun is sometimes used like an adverb to modify the meaning of a verb, an adjective, or another adverb ; it is then called an adverbial objective (accusative) because it is in the objective (accusative) case. An adverbial objective tells how, when, or where a thing is or is done, or it measures time, distance, value, or quantity. Ex. — He went home. He made the house ten feet longer. 11. Predicate objective or accusative. The active voice of certain verbs is usually followed by two objects, the second of which renames the first. These i8 verbs are make, name, choose, call, regard, elect, and verbs of kindred meaning. This second object is called the predicate objective. The predicate objective completes the act expressed by the verb and gives another name to the object after the act has been completed. Ex. — He made John captain. If the active voice of the verbs above mentioned takes two objects meaning the same person or thing, it is clear that the passive voice of these verbs must be completed by a predicate noun. Ex. — They named \i\\\\John. Active. He was named yijAw. Passive. 12. Appositives. A noun or pronoun which follows another noun for the purpose of explaining or identifying it is an appositive. The appo.sitive of the object is often confused with a predicate objective. The difference can be readily seen by testing whether the word merely renames the object or whether it also completes the act expre.ssed by the verb. Ex. — They crowned him king. (He is not king until the act of crowning is completed.) They saw his brother John. (There is no relation between the act of seeing and " John.") III. Modifications of nouns and pronouns. I. Number. (In connection with plurals see appendix.) That change in the form of a noun which shows whether one or more than one is meant is number. a. The singular number denotes one. b. The plural number denotes more than one. Nouns regularly form their plural by adding 5 or es to the singular. When i- does not unite smoothly with the singular, es is added. In forming the plural of compounds, the ending should always be added to the principal term in the compound. Some foreign nouns retain their foreign plurals. Names of materials and abstract nouns are rarely pluralized. 19 Some nouns have the same form for both nnmbers. Some nouns have only the plural form. Some nouns plural in form are treated as singular. 2. Case and case forms. Case denotes the relation existing between a noun or pro- noun and some" other part of the sentence. Although nouns have three case relations, they have but two case forms : the common and the genitive. The case re- lations are nominative, genitive, accusative. The personal pronouns and the relative who have three case forms. (Also true of who interrogative. ) Declension of pronouns, ist person. Singular Plnral Nom . I we ' my ) our mine ) ours Ace. me us Gen ■{: his its 2nd person (Old form) Singular Plural Nom. thou ye ( thnie [ yours Ace. thee you 3d person (Feminine) Nom.. she they „ f her f their ^^"- I hers . 1 theirs Ace. her them Relative and interrogative. Singular and plural. Nom. Who Gen. Whose Ace. Whom. A'bfe.— The other relatives and interrogatives borrow the genitive whose. Note. — The systematic arrangement of words in their different forms is called inflection. The inflection of pro- nouns is called declension. 2nd person (common form.) Singular Plural you Plural is used f your for singular ( yours you 3d person (Masculine) Singular Plural he they I their I theirs him them Neuter pronoun it it they f their I theirs it them 20 a. Nominative case relations. Subject nominative Predicate nominative Nominative independent Nominative absolute Appositive of noun in nominative case. d. Genitive (possessive) case relations. Possessive modifier Appositive of nouns in genitive case. In forming the genitive of compounds, the possessive sign is added to the last term only. When several persons are represented as owning something in common, the sign is added to the last. In cases of separate ownership the sign is added to each term. Ex. — James and Henry's books — Common possession. James's and Henry's books — Separate possession. /\^ie. — Such phrases as " queen of England'''' are treated as compounds. Note. — The sign is omitted in the case of the appositive genitive. The genitive pronouns, mine, ours, etc., are used without the noun following. (^Mine occurs occasionally in poetic forms before a noun beginning with a vowel.) Note. — When the genitive idea is expressed by a phrase introduced by (?/"the sign is dropped except in such idioms as "A book of John's." c. Accusative (objective) case relations. Object of verb or preposition Dative or indirect object. Adverbial accusative (objective) Predicate accusative (objective) Appositive accusative (objective) Note. — Since all renaming nouns are in the same case as the nouns they rename, it often happens that the predicate noun of a participle or an infinitive is in the accusative case. Ex. — What of Huntingdo7i, styled the miracle of his age. I found him to be an anthor. 21 IV. Formula for parsing nouns and pronouns Nouns. Part of speech Sub-class Number Gender (If a gender noun) S nta I Case ^ [ Reason Pronouns. Part of speech Sub-class Person (If personal) Number Gender (If gender pronoun) Antecedent (If relative) Syntax j ^^^^ ( Reason Declension (If declinable. ) f Abstract Masculine Feminine V. Summary. A. Nouns. I. Sub-classes. 1. Common i ^^ ,, .- ( Collective 2. Proper 3. Gender j II. Uses. 1. Subject 2. Predicate noun 3. Nominative independent 4. Nominative absolute 5. Possessive modifier 6. Object of preposition 7. Direct object 8. Indirect or dative object 9. Adverbial objective 10. Predicate objective 11. Appositive. }{ Retained Object III. Modifications of nouns and pronouns. ,, u f Singular 1. Number | pj^^j ^ p f Nominative 2. Case Forms > p '^,"itT°" '- ■^'^cusative 22 B. Pronouns. I. Sub-classes. r First person 1. Personal i Second person (^ Third person a. Simple b. Compound 2. Interrogative. T, , . • f Simple 3. Relative i r^ '^ ■, •^ [ Compound f Distributive 4. Adjective ] Demonstrative (indefinite II. Uses. The uses are the same as the uses of nouns, except in the case of relatives which, in addition to their noun uses, are always connectives. (Interrogatives are occasionally used as connectives.) III. Modifications are the same as in the case of nouns. C. Verbs. A word that asserts is a verb. In general, a verb may assert action, being, or state of being. If one knows the present, the preterit, and the past parti- ciple of a verb, he can, with the help of auxiliaries, express all the different shades of meaning of which a verb is capable. I. Sub-clas.ses. 1. Verbs are classified as strong and weak. ra. A strong verb is one that forms its preterit by changing the vowel of the present. d. Weak verbs form their preterit by adding ed, d, or f to the present tense. 2. Verbs are also classified as transitive and intransitive. a. A transitive verb requires an object to complete its meaning. b. An intransitive verb does not require an object to complete its meaning. The meaning of an intransitive verb 23 may be complete in itself, as " The snow falls " ; or it may require an adjective or a noun relating to the subject to complete its meaning, as "He became rich." An intran- sitive verb which joins a predicate noun or a predicate adjective to its subject is often called a copulative verb. Note. — Intransitive verbs often become transitive by taking a cognate object. Ex. — He ran a race. Certain in- transitives become transitive with a causative meaning. Ex. — He ran an engine, meaning He caused an engine to run. Most verbs can be used either transitively or intransitively : the meaning of the sentence in which the verb occurs de- termines the point. II. Various Forms and Uses of Verbs. The principal use of the verb is that of predicate of a noun or a pronoun : every verb, however, has participial, infinitive, and gerund forms which may be used as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. 1. Predicate Verb. (A,sserting Form.) 2. Participles. A participle is a form of the verb having an adjective use. It assumes the act, being, or state instead of asserting it. Although used as an adjective, it retains enough of its verb nature to take an object or an adverbial modifier. It can be readily changed to a predicate verb when the noun which it modifies becomes its subject. A participle with the words belonging to it is called a participial phrase. Participles are used as : — a. Modifiers of nouns or pronouns. b. Predicate adjectives. (Relating to subject. ) c. Predicate adjectives. (Relating to object.) d. After auxiliary verbs. 3. Infinitives. The real nature of the infinitive is noun ; it names the act in a general way. Ex. — To run, names the act of running ; since, however, it may take an object or adverbial modifiers, it is considered under the head of verbs. 24 Note I. — There was originally a special infinitive ending ; but the modern infinitive is like the present indicative in form. Note 2. — The use of the preposition to, which was for- merly employed with a real prepositional meaning in such expressions as // was made to use {for use) , and not as an infinitive sign, has grown until to is now regarded as a necessary sign of the infinitive. Its prepositional nature is lost. Infinitives without to still follow certain verbs. Infinitives are used as nouns ; this use includes subject, predicate noun, appositive, object of preposition. Infinitives are used as adjective modifiers. Infinitives are used as adverbial modifiers to express purpose (or result). Infinitives may be used as complementary infinitives to complete the meaning of incomplete predicate verbs. Ex.= — He hoped to go. He made him work. I am tempted to illustrate it. He appeared to be ill. I wished him to go. He is eager to go. Note. — The following verbs are followed by comple- mentary infinitives without the sign : Bid, dare, feel, have, hear, let, make, need, see. The infinitive without the sign is used in verb phrases after may, can, must, do, shall, and will. 4. Gerunds. In nature, the gerund and the infinitive are almost identi- cal. The gerund is a verb form with a noun use. It always ends in ing. The gerund can be changed to the infinitive in every case except when it is used as the object of a preposition. The gerund, however, is never used to com- plete a verb phrase or as an adverbial modifier, although it may be the principal word in a phrase used adverbially. Ex. — Believing is better than doubting. (To believe is better than to doubt.) III. Modifications of Verbs. I. Voice. That modification of a transitive verb which shows whether the subject performs or receives the act is voice. 25 a. When the subject names the actor, the voice is active. d. When the subject names the receiver of the act, the voice is passive. The auxiliary of the passive voice is always some form of the verb be ; the completing word is always the past parti- ciple of the main verb. Ex. — He is injured. 2. The manner in which the verb expresses the act, being, or state gives rise to that modification known as mode. There are three modes : indicative, subjunctive, and imperative, besides potential and emphatic verb phrases. a. Indicative Mode. The indicative mode asserts a fact. b. Subjunctive Mode. (Mode expressing uncertainty.) (Few subjunctive distinctions can be made in teaching a class of young children. Most authors who have a real feeling for language are particular in the use of the few subjunctive forms yet remaining to us.) The subjunctive mode usually expresses one of three things: (i) an uncertainty which will be decided in future time, (2) a supposition doubtful or contrary to a fact, (3) or a wish. The verb to be has special .subjunctive forms ; all other verbs are alike in both indicative and subjunctive forms except that the present third singular ends in s in the indica- tive, while the present third singular of the subjunctive drops the 5. Ex. — He sings. If he sing. The subjunctive form generally occurs in a subordinate clause introduced by if, though, although, or unless ; in wi.shes and prayers, however, it .sometimes occurs in the main clause. Ex. — The I/Ord be with thee. Thy kingdom come. Note. — If is more used with the subjunctive than any other connective, although in a true condition it is followed by the indicative. As if (as though) is always followed by the subjunctive — always As if he were, never As if he was. c. Imperative Mode. The imperative mode is used to express a command or an entreaty. (The, greater part of all our prayers is ex- 26 pressed either in the subjunctive of desire, or the imperative of entreaty. Ex. — Lead us not into temptation.) d. Potential Verb Phrases. The auxiliaries may. can, must, m,tght, could, would, and should are used with the infinitive of verbs to express either indicatively or subjunctively certain distinctions of meaning which the indicative or subjunctive could not express alone. Note. — The potential phrases have crowded out the sub- junctive forms of Old English. It is impossible, however, for young children to distinguish clearly between indicative and subjunctive potential phra.ses. May and might express the liberty or possibility of acting or being ; can and could express the power or ability of acting or being ; must expresses the necessity of acting or being ; should expresses the duty or obligation, and would, the inclination of acting or being. Note. — Would IS sometimes used to indicate a past action that was habitual. Ex. — He would sit thus for hours. See shall and will. The infinitive sign is never used in potential phrases. e. Emphatic Phrases. Do is used with the infinitive to make a phrase emphatic or to give a sentence an interrogative form. Ex. — I do study. Did I study ? 3. Tense signifies time. It is that modification of a verb which indicates when the act, being, or state of being takes place. Since an act may be regarded as continuing, or as completed at a given time, there are two groups of tenses ; those expressing incomplete or continuing action and those expressing completed or perfect action. (The first group is called primary ; the second, secondary.) As there are three time divisions : present, past, and future, so there are three tenses in each group. Incomplete Tenses. Complete or Perfect Tenses. Present, Present perfect. Preterit, Pluperfect, Future. Future perfect. 27 The indicative mode is the only one which has six different tenses. It is also the only one in which the time indicated by the verb usually corresponds with the tense name. Every tense has two forms : the common and the pro- gressive. The progressive is always made up of some form of the auxiliary be, completed by the present participle. (The exact meaning of the term progressive is indicated by the word itself.) The common form of the indicative often expresses an accustomed action. Ex. — He sings. The present indicative is used to express a general truth. Ex. — " All men are created equal." The perfect tenses are formed by the auxiliary have com- pleted by the past participle ; the future tenses are formed by the auxiliaries sAall and will completed by the infinitive. Shall is generally used when the action is under the control of the speaker ; will, when it is controlled by some influence outside the speaker. Shall = mere future action in the first person ; shall = future action plus determination or promise on the part of the speaker in the second and third persons; ze/z"// = promise or determination in the first person and mere future intention in the second and third. In interrogative sentences, shall is always used in the first person ; in the second and third, the auxiliary should be the one desired or expected in the answer. In the subjunctive mode, the present tense really indicates future time ; the preterit tense, present time ; and the plu- perfect, past time. The imperative has but one tense, the present. Potential verb phrases have four tenses : present, preterit, present perfect, pluperfect. May expresses a present or a future liberty or possibility ; can a present or future power or ability ; musl a present or future necessity. (A past necessity is usually expressed by the use of had and an infinitive phrase.) Might and could, the preterit forms of may and can, ex- press the .same idea. They are used with a preterit, a present, or a future signification. Should and would are the preterits of shall and will. The 28 distinction in use is much more troublesome to young stu- dents ; but the difficulty can often be removed by changing to shall and will and then determining which should be used. Should may also be used to express an ever present duty. Ex. — Man should honor his lyord and Master. IVouldmay denote an accustomed act in past time. Would is also used in the sense of was determined. Both these auxiliaries may refer to either present, past, or future time. Note. — Ought is sometimes classed with the potential forms. Like must, it has only the present form though it may refer either to future or present time. Participles have but three tenses : present, past, and per- fect. The act is always present, past, or perfect when considered with reference to the tense of the predicate verb in the sentence in which the participle stands. Gerunds and infinitives are used only in the present and the perfect. (In the use of verbs, great care should be taken to use the tense required by the particular clause in which the verb stands. Verbs of expectation, intention, desire, and verbs of kindred meaning, usually take the present infinitive after them.) 4. The person and number of a verb is always the same as that of its subject. (As participle, gerund, and infinitive forms have no subjects, person and number are modificctions of predicate verbs only.) The verh be has different person and number forms in both the present and the past indicative ; the only change made in other verbs is in the third person indicative, present singular, which always ends in s. (The sacred style still retains some special forms. ) IV. The syntax of a verb consists in giving its use in the sentence in which it stands. V. Summary. .,,,(' Definition A vero I Principal Parts. I. Sub-classes. a. Strong I . Because of change in form ■ b. Weak 29 2. Because of meaning ( a. Transitive (. b. Intransitive II. Various forms and uses of verbs. I. Forms ^ Asserting Form Participle Infinitive Gerund b. Participles • 2. Uses. a. Asserting form used as predicate. r Adjective Modifier Predicate Adjective relating to subject Predicate Adjective relating to object Completing word in verb phrases. 'Subject 1 Predicate Noun ' Appositive ^Object of Preposition c. Infinitives \ Adjective Modifier Adverbial of Purpose or Result Complementary Adverbial Completing word in verb phrases. Noun d. Gerund Subject Predicate Noun Appositive Object of a Preposition Complementary Gerund. III. Modifications of Verbs. I. Voice Active Passive. 2. Mode and Verb Phrases • Indicative Subjunctive Imperative Potential Verb Phrases Emphatic Verb Phrases. 30 3. Tense. C Present a. Incomplete Action ■< Preterit (. Future f Present Perfect b. Completed Action < Pluperfect ( Future Perfect r First 4. Person -j Second (Third (If subject is personal pronoun.) 3. Number {S"'" IV. Syntax of Verbs. Formula for Parsing. Word. Part of Speech. Sub-class. r Strong ^ I. Form A >■ (Give principal parts) (Weak ) y. J Transitive =■ \ Intransitive Voice. Mode. Tense. Person (If subject is personal.) Number. Syntax. D. Adjectives. I. Sub-Classes. 1. Qualifying. A qualfying adjective limits the meaning of a noun or pronoun by de.scribing or expressing some quality belonging to it. 2. A limiting adjective modifies the meaning of a noun or pronoun without expressing any quality. 31 a. A qualifying adjective derived from a proper noun is a proper adjective, b. A qualifying adjective derived from a verb is a parti- cipial adjective. 3. The classes of limiting adjectives are articles, numerals, pronominals, interrogatives. a. The articles are the indefinite a, definite the. b. Numerals are the cardinals, e.g., one, two; and the ordinals, e. g. , first, second. (For pronominals and interrogatives see adjective and interrogative pronouns.) II. Uses of adjectives. 1. Modifiers are of two kinds : attributive and appositive, named from their position in the sentence. a. An attributive adjective is one that unites very closely in meaning with the noun it modifies. b. An appositive adjective is joined loosely to the word it modifies, having something the force of an abridged clause. Ex. — Poor and despised, he wandered from city to city. Note. — An attributive adjective modified by a phrase fol- follows the noun it modifies. Ex. — It was a Any full of joy. 2. An adjective may stand in the predicate. A predicate adjective relates either to the subject or to the object. Ex. — The boys became tired. Work made the boy tired. III. Comparison of Adjectives. 1. Comparison denotes the greater or less, the greatest or least degree which the adjective may express. a. Positive degree expresses the quality itself. b. Comparative degree expresses the quality in a greater or less degree. c. Superlative degree expresses the quality in the greatest or least degree. 2. There are three methods of comparing adjectives : (a) by endings er and est ; (b) by use of the adverbs less and least, more and most ; (c) by different words. ' Monosyllables are usually compared by adding the end- ings ; dissyllables are compared by the endings or the ad- 32 verbs ; all others are generally compared by the use of the adverb. Note — Some adjectives do not admit of comparison. (Construction of comparatives and superlatives : See Reed & Kellogg, "Higher Lessons."— Lesson 128.) IV. The syntax of an adjective is its use in the sentence. V. Summary. A. Adjective. I. Sub-classes. ■ SI y K I Participial ArtiHp.; (Definite Articles I Indefinite -.T 1 f Cardinal Numerals {ordinal r Demonstrative Pronominal \ Distributive (. Indefinite Interrogative 2. Limiting I. Modifier | ' II. Uses. Attributive Appositive „ ,. «j. ,• f Relating to Subject 2. Predicate Adjective | Relating to Object III. Modification. r Positive Degree I . Comparison \ Comparative Degree (, Superlative Degree IV. Syntax. Formula for Parsing. Word. Part of Speech. Sub-Class. Degree. Comparison. Syntax. Note. — A large number of qualifying adjectives end in ful or able. 33 E. Adverbs. (See Reed & Kellogg, " Higher Lessons." Lesson 93.) I. Sub-Classes. 1. Adverbs are divided according to use into simple and conjunctive. A simple adverb is one used as a mere modi- fier ; a conjunctive adverb joins a subordinate clause to the word it modifies. 2. Adverbs are divided, according to meaning, into the following classes : time, place, manner, degree, and purpose. Note. — A few words which are used independently, or which modify the meaning of the whole statement, are called modal adverbs. II. Uses of Adverbs. I. An adverb may modify (a) verb, {U) adverb, (<:) ad- jective, (^) may be used independently, (»j LI. *i,' ;!=*■