which confined them. On one part were flocks and herds feeding in the pastures, on another, all beasts of chase frisking in the lawns; the sprightly kid was bounding on the rocks, the subtle monkey frolicking among the trees, and the solemn elephant reposing in the shade. All the diversities of the world were brought together, the blessings of nature were collected, and its evils extracted and excluded. This is a short description selected from Dr. Johnson's novel "Rasselas." The following topics are treated: 1. The position. 2. The entrance. 3. How watered. 4. Life. a. vegetable. b. animal. c. character of. Write from these topics a composition of your own on "The Beautiful Valley." XX. THE PRONOUN I gave him my book, and he studied his lesson. In this sentence, "I" and "my" are used instead of the name of the person speaking, and "him," "his," and "he," instead of the name of the one to whom the book was given. Who has the book which you were reading? In this sentence "who " is used instead of the name of the person inquired for; "which," instead of the word "book"; and "you," instead of the name of a person addressed. Each of these words is called a pronoun, which means instead of a noun. A pronoun is a word used instead of a noun; as, is my uncle." "Who came with you?" "He LETTER WRITING Point out the nouns, pronouns, and verbs in the following sentences: 25 I. I do not know where you live. 2. Who gave her that pencil? 3. She came from home an hour ago. 4. What have you there, my son? 5. Their house is much larger than our uncle's. 6. Your father is her mother's brother. 7. Whose farm is for sale in your neighborhood? 8. My cousin's farm is for sale. 9. His wife died last week. 10. He wishes a purchaser at once. II. Who cares for his children? 12. Their mother's sister has them. XXI. LETTER WRITING My dear Teacher: Philadelphia, Pa., 218 Walnut St., I am sorry that I cannot come to school to-day. My mother is ill, and the doctor thinks that I ought not to leave her until she is better. I send you by Mary Blake the composition that was to be ready for to-day, and the examples that I solved last night. Mary promises to bring me the lessons every day, so that I can study and keep up with the class. Your affectionate pupil, Margaret Douglas. Write this letter from dictation, being careful of punctuation and capitalization. What is the subject? What is the verb? What word completes the meaning of the verb, by receiving the action? An objective element is a word or a group of words which completes the meaning of a verb by naming that which receives the action expressed by the verb. Write ten sentences, each containing an objective element. Ex. "Indians hunt buffaloes." Analyze the sentences you have written, using this model: Children love play. "Children" is the subject (why?); "love," the predicate (why?); the predicate is modified by "play," an objective element. Analyze also the following sentences:· I. Heat melts lead. 2. Men love money. 3. I study botany. 4. Haste makes waste. 5. Cats catch mice. 6. Mr. Jones sells calicoes. 7. Clouds bring rain. The objective element and the term which it modifies are separated by a vertical line drawn to the horizontal line below them. Analyze the sentences in the exercise above, by the use of similar diagrams. LETTER WRITING 27 With reference to meaning and use, words are divided into nine classes, called parts of speech. So far three parts of speech have been learned: nouns, pronouns, and verbs. Tell what part of speech each word in the last exercise is, and tell as what element in the sentence each is used. MODEL. Indians are hunting buffaloes. “Indians” is a noun (why?); it is used as the subject; "are hunting" is a verb (why?); "are" is used as the copula, and “hunting" is used as the predicate; "buffaloes" is a noun (why?); it is used as an objective element. Select the subjects, the copulas, the predicates and the objective elements from the following exercises. Select also the nouns and verbs, telling how each is used. 1. Mind is the great lever of all things. 2. Liberty exists in proportion to wholesome restraint. 3. The whole life of man is but a point of time. 4. Birds in their little nests agree. 5. Six feet of earth make all men equal. 6. A man without hope is of no good use to the world. 7. Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. 8. The truth shall make you free. 9. He was a burning and a shining light. 10. The laborer is worthy of his hire. II. A prophet is not without honor save in his own country and in his own house. 12. Man shall not live by bread alone. 13. The winds and waves are always on the side of the ablest navigator. 14. The days of peace and slumberous calm are fled. 15. The rich man's son inherits land, and piles of brick and stone, and gold. 16. The sound of the war whoop broke the stillness of the night. XXIII. LETTER WRITING Copy the informal invitation on page 28, the answer on page 29, and the envelope on page 30. Be careful of capitals and punctuation. Write to a friend an informal invitation to spend a week with you. |