Part 13

There are some primitive tribes to-day who still use knotted strings as an aid to memory. These consist of a main cord, and fastened at given distances are finer cords of different colors. Each cord is knotted in different ways to mean different things and each color, too, has its own meaning. A red string stands for soldiers, a yellow for gold, and a green for corn, and so on, while a single knot may mean ten, two single knots twenty, a double knot 100, two double knots 200. In this way, they keep a record of things, transmit orders and use them for various purposes.

Only a generation ago the tax gatherers in the Island of Hawaii kept account of the assessable property on lines of cordage knotted in this manner, and these cords in some cases were three thousand feet long. The method of keeping track of things by means of a notched stick is easily within the memory of many people living today. For in England in the early part of the last century, accounts of debts to the government were kept by means of tally sticks, which were merely notched sticks.

Such methods as these were the only ways primitive man had of keeping track of things before he had discovered the art of written speech. And even after written speech was known and used, these old methods persisted.

Gradually, step by step, man has come along the path of progress. Adventurous spirits, not satisfied with the old way of doing things, sought new ways. The conservatives of their day thought them dangerous people, no doubt, and feared that they would destroy the very foundations of society. And this they oft-times did, but only that there might rise a more perfect form of society. It is the seeking, questioning mind that demands the reason for all things, that seeks ever better ways of doing things. They have always throughout the ages refused to bow to the authority of the past but have dared to live their own lives. To them we owe the progress of the world and we are the inheritors of their spirit.

Let us prove our kinship by daring to live our own lives and think our own thoughts.

Yours for Freedom,

THE PEOPLE'S COLLEGE.

INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS

+228+. You recall that in our first lesson we studied concerning the four different kinds of sentences which we use in expressing our thoughts, the _assertive_, the _interrogative_, the _imperative_ and the _exclamatory_. The interrogative sentence is the form which we use in asking a question, _interrogative_ being derived from the Latin _inter_, meaning _between_, and _rogare_, _to ask_, meaning literally _to ask between_. The interrogative sentence differs from the assertive sentence in the arrangement of the words; for in order to ask questions, we usually place the predicate, or part of it at least, before the subject, thus:

_Can_ you _use_ good English? _Did_ you _spell_ the word correctly? _Has_ he _studied_ grammar?

In these sentences, you note that the helping verbs, _can_, _did_ and _has_, are placed first instead of the subject. It is by this arrangement that we put the sentence in the interrogative form.

+229.+ Frequently, however, in asking questions we wish to ask concerning a person or thing whose name we do not know. So we need a word to refer to the unknown object. See how these uses of words grow out of our need! We have three interrogative pronouns, _who_ and _which_ and _what_, that we use to meet this need. Notice the use of these three pronouns in the following sentences:

_Who_ wrote the Communist Manifesto? _Which_ of the two men is the better known? _What_ are the closing words of this famous document?

In these sentences, _who_ and _which_ and _what_ are the interrogative pronouns, used to ask questions concerning the unknown persons or objects.

+230.+ +Who refers only to human beings or to personified objects.+

+Which refers either to human beings, animals or things.+

+What refers only to things.+

_Which_ and _what_ have the same form for both the subject and the object. _Who_ has a different form for all three forms, the subject form, the possessive form, and the object form. It uses the same form, however, both in singular and plural.

_Subject form_ _Possessive form_ _Object form_

Who Whose Whom

+231.+ We often make mistakes in the use of the different forms of the pronoun _who_. We often use the subject form for the object form, using _who_ where we should have used _whom_. For example:

Who did you see?

The correct form is:

Whom did you see?

The pronoun _whom_ is the object of the verb _see_, hence the object form should be used. However, the use of the subject form _who_ instead of _whom_ is coming into such general use today that some grammarians accept it as a permissible usage. The will of the people influences language, as it does all other human institutions, and gradually creates new rules.

Write three sentences, using _who_, _which_ and _what_ as interrogative pronouns.

+An interrogative pronoun is a pronoun used to ask a question.+

RELATIVE PRONOUNS

+232.+ There is one other class of pronouns which plays a great part in our speech and is a wonderful help to us. For example, suppose I want to tell you several things about this book. I say: _I am reading this book. It interests me greatly._ Now it would be a great advantage to me if I could put these two sentences together, and we have for this use a pronoun which makes it possible for us to combine these sentences, and so I say:

The book which I am reading interests me greatly.

Thus I am able to unite two short sentences into a long sentence, which conveys my meaning better than the two short sentences and gives a smoother bit of reading. We have four pronouns which we use in this way, _who_, _which_, _that_ and _what_ and they are called relative pronouns because they refer or relate to some noun in the sentence and they also serve to connect two statements.

+233.+ +A relative pronoun is a pronoun that relates to an antecedent and at the same time connects two statements.+

A relative pronoun always relates to its antecedent and at the same time connects the statement that it introduces with the one that contains the antecedent to which it relates, as in the sentence above, _The book which I am reading, interests me greatly._ _Which_ is the relative pronoun; first, because it relates to the antecedent, _book_; and second, because it connects the statement, _I am reading_, with the rest of the sentence. Notice these sentences also:

The man who thinks will not enlist in the army. We will destroy the system that enslaves us.

_Who_ and _that_ are the relative pronouns in these two sentences and their antecedents are _man_ and _system_, and they connect the statements, _who thinks_ and _that enslaves us_, with the rest of the sentence.

+234.+ +Who is used to relate to persons.+

+Which is used to relate only to animals and things.+

+That may relate to either persons, animals or things.+

+What relates to things.+

Note that _which_, as an interrogative, may refer to persons as well as to animals and things; but as a relative, _which_ never refers to persons.

+235+. Note that we use the same pronouns _who_, _which_ and _what_ as both relative and interrogative pronouns. You will not be confused in this matter if you will remember that they are called interrogative pronouns only when they are used to ask questions. When they are used as interrogative pronouns they never have an antecedent. _Who_ and _which_ and _what_ are always relative pronouns when used in an assertive sentence and referring to an antecedent.

_That_ and _what_ have the same form for both the subject and object forms. They have no possessive form. _Who_ has a different form for the subject form and the possessive form and the object form. _Which_ has the same form for subject and object forms, and a different form for the possessive form. Note the following:

_Subject form_ _Possessive form_ _Object form_

who whose whom which whose which

I know the man _who_ called him. I know the man _whose_ voice I hear. I know the man _whom_ they called.

In these three sentences we have the pronoun _who_ used in its three forms, subject, possessive and object form. We should be very careful not to confuse the subject and the object forms of the pronoun _who_.

This is the book _which_ tells the truth. This is the book _whose_ author is in prison. This is the book _which_ I wanted.

In these three sentences we have the pronoun _which_ used in its three forms, _subject_ form, _possessive_ form and _object_ form. In the first sentence the pronoun is the subject of the verb _tells_; in the second sentence, it is used in the possessive form with the noun _author_; in the third sentence, it is used as the object of the verb _wanted_.

+236.+ _What_ differs from the other relative pronouns in that its antecedent is never expressed, for it is implied in the word itself. _What_ is always equivalent to _that which_, or _the thing which_. For example, the sentence, _Do not tell what I have told you_, is equivalent to saying, _Do not tell that which I have told you_, or _the thing which I have told you_.

+237+. Never use _what_ in a sentence as a _relative_ pronoun unless you can replace it and make good sense by using _that which_, or _the thing which_ in place of _what_.

For example, do not say, _I know that what he would say_. This is incorrect. You should say, _I know that which he would say_, or _I know what he would say_, using _what_ in place of _that which_. Here is a sentence that occurred in an English examination recently, which illustrates most aptly this point. _A subject is that what something is said about._ Here _what_ is used incorrectly. _A subject is that about which something is said_, would have been the correct form.

Watch for this in your speech for it is a most common error and to the educated ear is harsh and marks the speaker as uneducated. All of these mistakes which we make so commonly will require a considerable amount of effort to overcome, but the result is worth the effort, for even those about us who will not take the pains or give the required time and effort to acquiring an education for themselves, will give greater heed to the speech of those who do speak correctly, and will readily acknowledge the leadership of those who have given the time and effort to self-development.

+238.+ The antecedent of _who_ is sometimes omitted and understood; for example, _Who follows the cause must endure hardship_, _He_, is understood and omitted. _He who follows the cause must endure hardship._

+239.+ The relative pronoun itself is often omitted. For example:

These are the men (whom) you must help. The words (that) you use and the deeds (that) you do, are your judges.

+240.+ The relative pronouns have compound forms also, such as _whoever_, _whosoever_, _whichever_, _whichsoever_, _whatever_ and _whatsoever_, which are used in the same manner as the simple forms.

COMMON ERRORS

+241.+ Here are a number of common errors which only constant practice and watchfulness can overcome. Study these over and watch your conversation closely. Force yourself to speak correctly for a time, and soon correct speech will become a habit.

+1.+ +Do not use both a noun and a pronoun as the subject of a sentence+; as, _John, he waited for me._ _Mary, she refused to go._ Leave out the pronouns _he_ and _she_ in these sentences. They are unnecessary and incorrect.

+2.+ +Never use+ _hern_, _ourn_, _hisn_ or _yourn_ for _hers_, _ours_, _his_ and _yours_; as, _The book is hisn._ _Ourn stopped on the first._ _Did you get yourn?_ Say: _This book is his._ _Ours stopped on the first._ _Did you get yours?_

+3.+ +Never say+ _hisself_ for _himself_. There is no such word as _hisself_. Do not say, _He hurt hisself_. Say, _He hurt himself_.

+4.+ +Do not say+ _them_ for _those_; as, _Did you bring them songs?_ _Them things are not right._ Say, _Did you bring those songs?_ _Those things are not right._

+5.+ +Do not use an apostrophe in writing the possessive forms of pronouns+, as _her's_, _our's_, _it's_. Leave out the apostrophe and write _hers_, _ours_, _its_.

+6.+ +Do not use _who_ to relate to animals or things+; as, _The dog who bit me was killed_. Say, _The dog that bit me was killed_.

+7.+ +Do not use _myself_ as the subject+. It can be used only as an emphatic or reflexive pronoun. It is correct to say, _I found the book myself_, and _I hurt myself_. But do not say, _They asked my friend and myself_, or _Myself and my wife will go_. Say, _They asked my friend and me_. _My wife and I will go._

+8.+ +Avoid the use of pronouns when the reference to the antecedent is not clear.+ Better repeat the nouns or re-write the sentence. For example:

He said to his friend that if he did not feel better soon he thought he had better go home.

Now you can interpret this in at least four different ways. No one but the speaker can ever know to whom the pronouns _he_ refer, whether to the speaker or to his friend. Or in the sentence,

A tried to see B in the crowd, but could not because he was so short.

Who was short, _A_ or _B_? _John's father died before he was born._ Did John's father die before John was born or did John's father die before John's father, himself, was born? Be careful in the use of pronouns in this way.

+9.+ +Remember that _I_, _we_, _he_, _she_, _they_ and _who_ are always used as subject forms and also as the complement of all forms of the verb _be_.+

+10.+ +Remember that _me_, _him_, _her_, _them_, _us_ and _whom_ are always object forms+. Never say, _They charged he and I too much_. Say, _They charged him and me too much_. In an attempt to speak correctly and follow the niceties of English, this mistake is so often made. Always use the object form as the object of a verb or preposition.

+11.+ +When a participle is used as a _noun_, and a pronoun is used with it, the pronoun should always be in the _possessive_ form+. We make this mistake so frequently. For example, we say: _Us going there was a mistake_. We should have used the possessive form, _Our going there was a mistake_. _I have never known of him being absent from work._ We should say: _I have never known of his being absent from work_. _Did he tell you about me joining with them?_ This should be, _Did he tell you about my joining with them?_ _You talking to him set him to thinking._ This should be, _Your talking to him set him to thinking_. Watch this and wherever you have used a participle as a _noun_, use the pronoun in the _possessive_ form, as you would with any other noun.

+12.+ +Watch carefully that the number of the pronoun always agrees with the number of its antecedent.+ If you are speaking of one person or thing use a singular pronoun. If you are speaking of more than one person or thing in your antecedent, use the plural pronoun. For example: _Each man must do his own work._ _The soldiers fully understood their danger._

+13.+ +When a singular noun, in the common gender (this means that it may name either a male or female being), is the antecedent of the pronoun, it is customary for us to use the masculine pronoun.+ For example:

Every student should send in _his_ examination paper promptly.

Every member of the class may select _his_ own subject.

Do not use the pronoun _their_ when the antecedent is a singular noun.

SUMMARY

Pronoun--In Place of a Noun

CLASSES

_Personal_ {Simple-- {1st Person, _speaking_. {Compound-- {2nd Person, _spoken to_. {3rd Person, _spoken of_.

_Interrogative_ {To ask questions. {_Who_, _which_ and _what_.

_Relative_ {To refer to another word and connect two statements. {_Who_, _which_, _that_ and _what_.

Exercise 1

Complete the following sentences by using the correct form of _I_, _me_, or _myself_, in the blank spaces:

1. My partner and......joined the union. 2. They asked Henry and......to go. 3. May my friend and......call? 4. I will attend to that....... 5. Let my comrade and......go with you. 6. Are you sure it was......? 7. I blame......for joining with them. 8. They accused......of bothering them. 9. I am nearly beside......with grief. 10. The manager dismissed the men......among the rest.

Exercise 2

Complete the following sentences by using the correct form of _we_, _us_ or _ourselves_ in the blank spaces:

1. They are better off than....... 2. The French as well as......claim a war of defense. 3. Can you blame......who have always stood by you? 4. We will do that for....... 5. Between......comrades there should be no differences. 6. They gave......men work. 7. Do not trouble;......will attend to this....... 8. They sent a special notice to our friends and.......

Exercise 3

Complete the following sentences by using the correct form of _thou_, _thee_, _thy_ or _thyself_ in the blank spaces:

1. To......be true, and it follows as the night the day...... canst not then be false to any man. 2. Paul,......art beside......; much learning hath made ......mad. 3. ......shalt love......neighbor as....... 4. Trust....... Every heart vibrates to that iron string.

Exercise 4

Complete the following sentences by using the correct form of _he_, _him_, or _himself_ in the blank spaces:

1. ......and John are to blame. 2. I think it was....... 3. My friend and......called on you. 4. He blamed......for the accident. 5. You are no better than....... 6. I shall call for you and....... 7. You and......must come on time. 8. He found the place....... 9. There should be no quarrel between you and......who loves you. 10. If you were......would you go?

Exercise 5

Complete the following sentences by using the correct form of _she_, _her_, or _herself_ in the blank spaces:

1. They asked Mary and......to go. 2. Mary and......went. 3. May......and I go with you? 4. Let......and Harry go. 5. Is that Mary? Yes, it is....... 6. There are many points of difference between......and me. 7. You are more beautiful than....... 8. She brought it to me....... 9. If......and I join you, will you go? 10. They must not quarrel over......and me.

Exercise 6

Complete the following sentences using the correct form of _they_, _them_, or _themselves_ in the blank spaces:

1. They gave......up. 2. ......and I will finish the work. 3. I found......where......hath thrown......down to rest. 4. I am sure it was......for I saw......plainly. 5. The workers enslave......by their lack of solidarity. 6. ......must learn the lesson.......

Exercise 7

Cross out the wrong word in the following sentences:

1. Everybody do--does as he pleases--they please. 2. No one should waste his--their opportunities. 3. The jury rendered its--their verdict. 4. If anyone wishes war, let him--them do the fighting. 5. The audience displayed its--their approval by its--their applause. 6. The audience remained quietly in its--their seats. 7. The jury adjourned for its--their dinner. 8. Nobody willingly gives up his--their rights. 9. Each one may express his--their opinion. 10. Every man received his--their wages.

Exercise 8

Complete the following sentences by using the correct form of the pronouns _who_, _whose_, or _whom_:

1. ......do you think I am? 2. I am the man......you taught yesterday. 3. With......are you going? 4. The contract was let to a man......we are sure cannot fulfill it. 5. The contractor......wishes to bid will come tomorrow. 6. On......are you depending? 7. The friends......counsel I took, stood by me. 8. He is a man......I am sure will succeed. 9. We tried to talk to those......we thought would understand us. 10. For......did you work?

Exercise 9

Insert _who_, _whose_, _whom_, _which_, _that_ or _what_ in the blanks in the following sentences:

1. Man is the only animal......uses a written speech. 2. Can you save......you earn? 3. Ricardo's law was that the workers always receive a wage......permits them to produce and reproduce. 4. Have you read the book "War, What For"......Kirkpatrick wrote. 5. Newspapers......distort the news......they print to serve the ruling class are dangerous foes to the workers. 6. The massacre at Ludlow was an event......aroused the working class. 7. They......live by the labor of others are drones in society and should be given the fate......they deserve. 8. The big machine gun......will destroy slavery is the printing press. 9. The man......leadership we should follow is he......preaches social equality. 10. We know......we need and we will demand......is our right.

Exercise 10

In the following quotations note the use of the pronouns and mark whether they are _personal_, _relative_ or _interrogative_, whether they are used in the _subject_ form, _possessive_ form or _object_ form:

1. "Camerado, I give you my hand, I give you my love more precious than money, I give you myself before preaching or law; Will you give me yourself, will you come travel with me, Shall we stick by each other as long as we live?"

2. "I think I could turn and live with animals they are so placid and self-contained, I stand and look at them long and long, they do not sweat and whine about their condition, They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins, They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God; Not one is dis-satisfied, not one is demented with the mania of owning things. Not one kneels to another nor to his kind, that lived thousands of years ago, Not one is respectable or unhappy over the whole earth." --_Whitman_.

Exercise 11

Note the omission of the antecedent in the first sentence, also the use of the relative _what_ in the last sentence of the first paragraph:

"Whoso would be a man, must be nonconformist. He who would gather immortal palms must not be hindered by the name of goodness, but must explore if it be goodness. Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of our own mind. Absolve you to yourself, and you shall have the suffrage of the world. I remember an answer which, when quite young, I was prompted to make to a valued adviser who was wont to importune me with the dear old doctrines of the church. On my saying, "What have I to do with the sacredness of traditions, if I live wholly from within?" my friend suggested--"But these impulses may be from below, not from above." I replied, "They do not seem to me to be such; but if I am the devil's child, I will live then from the devil." No law can be sacred to me but that of my nature. Good and bad are but names very readily transferable to that or this; the only right is what is after my constitution; the only wrong what is against it.

A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do. He may as well concern himself with his shadow on the wall. Out upon your guarded lips! Sew them up with pack threads, do. Else, if you would be a man, speak what you think today in words as hard as cannon balls, and tomorrow speak what tomorrow thinks in hard words again, though you contradict everything you said today. Ah, then, exclaim the aged ladies, you shall be sure to be misunderstood. Misunderstood! It is a right fool's word. Is it so bad then to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood."--_Emerson_.

SPELLING

LESSON 13