Part 29

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

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

In the next sentence, _Wonderful artifices and marvelous inventions have been made_, we find two _nouns_ about which a statement is made. _Artifices_ have been made and _inventions_ have been made; so _artifices_ and _inventions_ are both the _subjects_ of the sentence. Therefore, we have a compound subject with a single verb, _have been made_. _Artifices_ is modified by the adjective _wonderful_, and _inventions_ is modified by the adjective _marvelous_, so we have _wonderful artifices and marvelous inventions_, as the complete subject, and _have been made_, as the complete predicate.

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

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

When we ask the question what millions _do_, our question is answered by the verb phrase, _do live_. So _do live_ is the simple predicate, and the skeleton of our sentence, the simple subject and the simple predicate, is _millions do live_. The subject _millions_ is modified by the adjective phrase _of modern men_.

Then we ask, _how_ do men live? And we find our question answered by _they live miserably_. But we are told _how_ miserably they live by the adverb _more_ and the adverb clause, _than the cave-man lived_, both modifying the adverb _miserably_. So we have our complete predicate, _do live more miserably than the cave-man lived_.

This interrogative sentence is introduced by the interrogative adverb _why_.

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

Exercise 3

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

_I thought_ that _I would lift_ one of the little toilers. _I wanted_ to ascertain his weight. Straightway through his thirty-five pounds of skin and bone there _ran_ a _tremor_ of fear. _He struggled_ forward to tie a broken thread. _I attracted_ his attention by a touch. _I offered_ him a silver dime. _He looked_ at me dumbly from a face _that might have belonged_ to a man of sixty. _It was_ so furrowed, tightly drawn and full of pain. _He did_ not _reach_ for the money. _He did_ not _know_ what _it was_. There _were dozens_ of such children in this particular mill. A _physician who was_ with me _said_ that _they would_ probably all _be_ dead in two years. Their _places would be_ easily _filled_, however, for there _were_ plenty _more_. _Pneumonia carries_ off most of them. Their _systems are_ ripe for disease and when _it comes_ there _is_ no _rebound_. _Medicine_ simply _does_ not _act_. _Nature is whipped, beaten, discouraged._ _The child sinks_ into a stupor and _dies_.

Exercise 4

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

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

SUMMARY

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

{ { Assertive { Use { Interrogative Sentences are { { Imperative classified { { Exclamatory according to { { { Simple { Form { Complex { { Compound

Elements { +Words+, the eight parts of speech. of { +Phrases+, adjective, adverb and verb phrases. The Sentence. { +Clauses+, adjective, adverb and noun clauses.

+459.+ ESSENTIALS OF A SIMPLE SENTENCE

+Subject+ +Predicate+

Subject Complete Verb Subject Copulative Verb Predicate Complement Subject Transitive Verb Direct Object Subject Transitive Verb Direct Object Indirect Object

+460.+ THE SUBJECT

{ _Noun_--The _man_ came. { _Pronoun_--_He_ came. +The simple subject+ { _Adjective_--The _poor_ came. may be { _Infinitive_--_To find_ work is difficult. { _Participle_--_Walking_ is good exercise. { _Clause_--_What I learn_ cannot be lost.

+Complete subject+--Simple subject and modifiers.

Modifiers of the Subject

{ Word--_Wealthy_ men rule. +Adjective+ { Phrase--Men _of wealth_ rule. { Clause--Men _who are wealthy_ rule.

+Possessive+--The _man's_ energy was great.

{ Word--The poet, _Lowell_, was the author. +Appositive+ { Clause--The fact, _that you came_, pleases me.

{ The soldiers, _wounded and dying_, were +Participle+ { left on the field

+Infinitive+--A plan _to end the war_ was discussed.

+461.+ THE PREDICATE

+The simple+ { _Verb_--The man _came_. +predicate+ { _Verb phrase_--The man _has been coming_ daily.

{ +Predicate Complement+--The man was a _hero_. A COMPLETE { +Direct Object+--The man brought the _book_. PREDICATE { +The Indirect Object+--The man brought _me_ the book. _equals a verb { or verb phrase { {_Word_--The man works _rapidly_. and_ { +Adverb+ { _Phrase_--The man works _in the factory_. { +Modifiers+ { _Clause_--The man works _whenever he { can_.

{ _Words_--The man works hard. SIMPLE SENTENCES { _Phrases_--The man _on your right_ works _in the CONTAIN ONLY { factory._

{ _Words_, The man works steadily +Complex sentences+ { _Phrases_ in the factory _whenever +contain+ { and there is work_. { _Dependent clauses._

+Compound sentences contain+ two or more principal clauses, as:

_The sun rises_ and _the day dawns_.

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

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

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

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

SIMPLE SUBJECT ENLARGED

+Simple Subject and Predicate+--_Soldiers obey._

_Adjectives_ added--_The enlisted_ soldiers obey.

_Phrase_ added--The enlisted soldiers _in the trenches_ obey.

_Clause_ added--The enlisted soldiers in the trenches, _who are doomed to die_, obey.

SIMPLE PREDICATE ENLARGED

+Simple Subject and Predicate+--_Soldiers obey._

_Object_ added--Soldiers obey _orders_.

_Adverb_ added--Soldiers obey orders _quickly_.

_Phrase_ added--Soldiers obey orders quickly and _without question_.

_Clause_ added--Soldiers obey orders quickly and without question _because they are taught to do so_.

Combining our enlarged subject and predicate we have the sentence:

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

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

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

Exercise 5

Enlarge the following simple subjects and simple predicates:

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

Exercise 6

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

MEN! whose boast it is that ye Come of fathers brave and free, If there breathe on earth a slave, Are you truly free and brave? If ye do not feel the chain, When it works a brother's pain, Are ye not base slaves indeed, Slaves unworthy to be freed?

Women! who shall one day bear Sons to breathe New England air, If ye hear without a blush, Deeds to make the roused blood rush Like red lava through your veins, For your sisters now in chains,-- Answer! are you fit to be Mothers of the brave and free?

Is true Freedom but to break Fetters for our own dear sake, And, with leathern hearts, forget That we owe mankind a debt? No! true freedom is to share All the chains our brothers wear, And, with heart and hand, to be Earnest to make others free!

They are slaves who fear to speak For the fallen and the weak; They are slaves who will not choose Hatred, scoffing, and abuse, Rather than in silence shrink From the truth they needs must think; They are slaves who dare not be In the right with two or three.

--_Lowell_.

SPELLING

LESSON 27

We have studied concerning the formation of derivatives by the addition of suffixes. Derivatives are also formed by the addition of prefixes. You remember that a prefix is a syllable which is placed before a simple word to form the derivative. Among the most common of these prefixes are _in_, _un_ and _mis_. The prefix _in_ used with an adjective or adverb means _not_; for example, _insane_ means _not_ sane; _incorrect_ means _not_ correct, etc.

The prefix _in_ used with a noun means _lack of_; for example, _inexperience_ means _lack of_ experience; _inability_ means _lack of_ ability, etc.

In words beginning with _m_ or _p_, _in_, meaning _not_ or _lack of_, is changed to _im_. This is done for the sake of euphony. The _n_ does not unite readily with the sound of _m_ or _p_. So we do not say _inmodest_ and _inpartial_, but _immodest_ and _impartial_.

The prefix _un_, used with participles, means _not_; for example, _unprepared_ means _not_ prepared; _unguarded_ means _not_ guarded, etc.

The prefix _un_ used with verbs, means to take off or to reverse; for example, _uncover_ means to take off the cover; _untwist_ means to reverse the process of the twisting.

The prefix _un_ used with adjectives means _not_; for example, _uncertain_ means _not_ certain; _uncommon_ means _not_ common.

The prefix _mis_ used with nouns or verbs, means _wrong_. For example, _mistreatment_ means _wrong_ treatment; _to misspell_ means to spell _wrong_.

Add the prefix _in_ to the nouns given in Monday's list; add the prefix _in_ to the adjectives given in Tuesday's list; add the prefix _im_ to the adjectives and nouns in Wednesday's lesson; add the prefix _un_ to the participles and adjectives in Thursday's lesson; add the prefix _un_ to the verbs in Friday's lesson, and add the prefix _mis_ to the nouns and verbs in Saturday's lesson.

+Monday+

Tolerance Frequency Competence Efficiency Coherence

+Tuesday+

Convenient Expedient Famous Adequate Solvent

+Wednesday+

Pertinent Morality Patience Moderate Pious

+Thursday+

Balanced Biased Gracious Stable Solicited

+Friday+

Burden Veil Fasten Screw Furl

+Saturday+

Construe Apprehension Inform Guide Judge

PLAIN ENGLISH

LESSON 28

Dear Comrade:

We are beginning with this lesson the study of the use of capitals and of punctuation. The use of capitals as well as punctuation has nothing to do with our spoken words, but both are very important in our written language.

There is nothing that will mark us as uneducated more quickly than bad spelling, faulty punctuation and the incorrect use of capitals.

The rules for the use of capitals may seem somewhat arbitrary. After an understanding of them, however, you will discover that they are not arbitrary, but are based upon a single principle. The word which is of the most importance, or which should receive the most emphasis is the word which is capitalized, as for example, the principal words in a title, the first words in a sentence, proper names, etc.

Study these rules carefully, note the use of the capitals in your reading and watch your written language carefully for a time. Soon the proper use of capitals will seem easy and most natural. In the meantime do not fail to keep up your study of words. Add at least one word to your vocabulary every day.

Did you ever consider how we think in pictures? Nearly every word that we use calls up a certain image or picture in our minds. The content of words has grown and developed as our ability to think has developed.

Take, for example, words like head or hand. Head originally referred to a portion of the body of a living thing; then it was used to refer to some part of an inanimate object which might resemble or call up a picture of an animal's head, for example, the head of a pin. Again, it was used to refer to some part of an inanimate thing which was associated with the head of a human being, as the head of the bed. Then, by the power of association, since the head was considered the most conspicuous and important part of the body, that which was most conspicuous and important was called the head, as the head of the army, the head of the nation.

Then, since the head was the seat of the brain and of the mental faculties, the head was often used instead of the brain or mental faculties. We speak of a clear head or a cool head. Thus we have a number of idiomatic expressions. We may speak of the head of the river; or the subject matter was divided under four heads; or again, the matter came to a head; he is head and ears in debt; we cannot make head against the opposition, etc.

This transfer of our ideas from the physical to the mental and spiritual marks vividly the growth of the language and the development of thought. Trace the words like hands, arm, foot, eye, tongue, in their use, first as physical then as mental or spiritual.

This will be the most interesting pastime and will enlarge the content of the words which you use.

Yours for Education,

THE PEOPLE'S COLLEGE.

CAPITAL LETTERS

+464.+ In our written speech we often display our lack of education by our use of capital letters and punctuation. We may understand the use of words and be able to speak fairly well, but if we do not understand the proper use of capitals and of punctuation marks, our written language readily betrays our ignorance.

+465.+ There are a number of rules for the use of capitals which we must observe. Some of the writers in our magazines defy these rules of capitalization, in an effort to seem different from other people, perhaps. These rules for the use of capital letters, like all other rules, are not arbitrary rules laid down by any body of men, but are simply a statement of accepted usage among people. We should not feel that we should say this or that or we are violating a rule of grammar. We should feel rather that the majority of the people who speak and write good English do thus, and so, for this reason, I shall do it also.

This is simply obeying the standard of majority rule. If there is any good and sufficient reason why we feel this should not be a rule, we may be justified in breaking it and making a new rule. Many people feel that our spelling should be simplified and so they insist upon spelling certain words in a more simple way. They feel that they have good and sufficient reason for insisting upon this change and gradually if these reasons appeal to the majority as being good and sufficient reasons, then this simplified mode of spelling will become the accepted usage.

But there seems no good reason why any writer should scatter capital letters with a lavish hand throughout his writing. One feels as though a writer in so doing is expressing his desire to be different, in a very superficial manner. Let us be unique and individual in our thought. If this forces us to a different mode of living or of expression from the rest of the world, then we are justified in being different from the rest. We have thought and reason behind our action. This is far different from the attitude of one who poses as a radical and whose only protest is in the superficial external things. So let us learn and observe these rules for the use of capital letters.

RULES FOR THE USE OF CAPITAL LETTERS

+466.+ +Use a capital for the first word of every sentence.+

When you begin a new sentence always begin that sentence with a capital letter. Each sentence is a statement of a complete thought and is independent of every other sentence. The use of the capital letter indicates this independence and calls attention to the fact that you are beginning a new thought.

+467.+ +Begin every line of poetry with a capital letter.+ Sometimes in poetry, the line is too long to be printed on a single line and must be carried over into another line; in this case, the first word of the second line does _not_ begin with a capital letter.

+468.+ +Use a capital for every proper noun.+ This includes names of persons, countries, states, towns, cities, streets and geographical names, as the names of seas, lakes, mountains, rivers, etc.

+469.+ +The words North, South, East and West are capitalized when they are used to refer to geographical divisions.+ When these words simply refer to the points of the compass, they should not begin with a capital.

+470.+ +The pronoun _I_ and the interjection _O_ should always be capitals.+ Never write the pronoun _I_ with a small _i_.

+471.+ +Every proper adjective should begin with a capital letter.+ Proper adjectives are adjectives derived from proper nouns. For example: the _Marxian_ philosophy, the _Darwinian_ theory, _Indian_ money, _Japanese_ labor, etc.

+472.+ +Always begin the names of the months and the days of the week with capital letters.+ For example: _January_, _February_, _August_, _Monday_, _Tuesday_, _Friday_, etc.

+473.+ +Use a capital letter for every name or title of the Deity.+ For example: _God_, _Jehovah_, _Christ_, _Jesus_, etc. It is also customary to capitalize all personal pronouns referring to God or Christ.

+474.+ +Begin with a capital letter names of all religious sects and political parties, also all adjectives derived from them.+ As for example: _Christian Church_, _Methodism_, _Republican Party_, _Mohammedan_, _Socialist_, etc.

+475.+ +Begin the names of all things spoken of as persons with a capital.+ In poetry or poetic prose we often speak of _war_, _fame_, _death_, _hope_, _fancy_, _liberty_, etc., as persons. Whenever these words are used in this way they should begin with a capital letter.

+476.+ +Use capital letters to begin important words in the title of a book or the subject of a composition.+ In titles the nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs should begin with a capital, while the prepositions and conjunctions should begin with small letters. The articles, _the_, _a_ and _an_ are not capitalized unless they are the initial word in the title.

+477.+ +Use a capital to begin every direct quotation.+ The first word of an indirect quotation should begin with a small letter. A direct quotation is one which uses the exact words of the speaker. For example: _He said_, "_I will come_." This is a direct quotation, but _He said that he would come_, is an indirect quotation.

+478.+ +Use a capital to begin an important statement or to ask a question.+ For example: _Resolved; That the United States should democratize war. The question is, Shall the people determine the question of war?_

+479.+ +Use capitals for the chief items of any enumeration of particulars.+ For example;

The bill is as follows: For Composition $20.00 For Press Work 10.00 Paper 25.00