SYNTAX. CHAPTER V. THE CONSTRUCTION OF SENTENCES: DIFFERENT KINDS OF SENTENCES. P. LET us make a sentence, Willie. W. I should think we have made a great many thousand in our lives. P. But let me hear you make one now. You know that two or more letters make a syllable, two or more syllables make a word, so two or more words make a sentence. W. Then I will put a great many words together Lucy, Ion, Willie, and Ada. Isn't that a good sentence? P. No; it is not a sentence at all. W. Why not? P. Because it does not convey to you any idea. Just think of what I am now saying. A sentence is two or more words which convey some statement or fact, as we say. Or, as you would say, they tell you something. any complete sense; they do not state a fact; they are, therefore, called a phrase. L. Here is a sentence, papa. To tumble down stairs is dangerous. P. Yes, that is a sentence, because it contains a statement. Or you may write a sentence with even four words; with three, or only two. Thus John hurt James. You now see that two or more words form either a sentence or a phrase. Let us next examine ! the parts of a sentence. One of these sentences has two parts, the other three Subject. Predicate. Object. John John laughed. hurt James. Ion. Why do you call John the subject, papa? P. Because he is the subject W. Here are six words then-whom we are speaking about. To tumble quickly down the The subject of a sentence is stairs. Ion. Here are some words joined together, papa― As soon as possible. P. These words have some sense; yet they do not convey always the nominative case to a verb. A sentence must contain a nominative and a verb. We call the nominative the subject, and the verb the predicate. In the second sentence you have three parts. JOHN, the nominative who does the action, is the subject-the action HURT The mischievous John very spitefully hurt his brother James. All the new parts of my sentence are in italic letters. They are, you see, added on to the principal parts. Because Subject. they are thus added to these parts they are called "adjuncts." L. I will put some adjuncts to one of my sentences. Cunning cats quickly catch sleepy mice. I P. You have made three swinging in the new brass cage. The adjuncts to that sentence. long-continued drought caused a distressing famine. The will make one more example, careful man foolishly made several remarkably that you may see how important mistakes. People like those many words in a long sentence of India live almost entirely on the plain vegetable substance, rice. The are often only adjunctssilly goose fled hastily and swiftly. The sure and swilt footed horse brought us all home in perfect safety. Subject. The hasty, careless boy very often indeed makes rather absurd W. There are 14 words in that sentence, and 11 are adjuncts. P. Yes. We will talk of the different kinds of sentences next week. I will to-day give you some exercises on sentences. EXERCISE NO. 94.-Strip the following sentences of their adjuncts, and write each with only the subject, predicate, and adjunct. The industrious boy is always successful. Our old poll-parrot has been EXERCISE No. 95.-Enlarge the following sentences by adding adjuncts to their principal parts. John came home. The servant broke the dish. The cat spilt the milk. The shepherd is shearing the her brother. The tree fell down. The sheep. James laughed. Mary visited girls go to school. EXERCISE NO. 96.- Underline the parts of the following sentences which are only phrases. You are walking in a great hurry. In one word, you are wrong! Without doubt, you cannot be right. For my own part, I think you are always mistaken. At least, you are generally wrong. Go with all despatch to the post. THE ENGLISH TRAVELLER. RECAPITULATION. "MY DEAR CHILDREN, "My journey through England began at Berwick-onTweed, and now here we are at the Land's End. I have travelled down the eastern and southern counties, and cannot go any further. So let us rest to-day, and before I go up the western side of England, we will recapitulate. "Your series of questions today will be on the CITIES and Towns. CORNWALL. 1. In which Cornish town did General Fairfax shut up the Royalist army and compel them to surrender? 2. In which town did Perkin Warbeck assemble his forces in the reign of Henry VII. ? 3. Where did Sir Walter Raleigh once land when returning from America? 4. Which town in Cornwall is the principal abode of the copper miners? 5. Where do the tin miners principally live? 6. The most western town in England exports pilchards, potatoes, Cornish clay, copper, tin, &c. What is its name? DEVONSHIRE. 17. Which town in Dorsetshire is famous for the number of executions by the cruel Judge Jeffries, after the Duke of Monmouth's rebellion? 7. There is a port into which Napoleon Bonaparte was brought as a prisoner in the ship Bellerophon. What is its name? 18. Mention the two princi8. In what town was New-pal ports of this county. A JOURNAL OF INSTRUCTION FOR THE FAMILY AND THE SCHOOL. 20th Week. MONDAY. THE JUSSIEUAN SYSTEM. THALAMIFLORALS. Order 5. FUMITORIES. P. HERE, Lucy, is a Fumitory. L. Why is it called by such a curious name? Is it because it has disagreeable fumes? P. Yes-it has an unpleasant smell, so its name is derived from the Latin word fumus, smoke. The French called it fumeterre, from which we make "fumitory." W. I think I have seen such a plant before, papa. Where does it grow? Botany. country; indeed, it is a native of most temperate countries in the northern hemisphere. The order is not an important one. I will point out its particulars. (1.) Ovary, one cell. (There appear to be two carpels in it, but they are not separated.) (2.) Stamens 6, united in two bunches. What class in the Linnæan system do they therefore belong to? W. The 17th class, Diadelphia. P. (3.) Petals 4, parallel to each other. They never completely unfold-the two inner ones adhere at the top and enclose the anthers and stigma. (4.) Sepals 2, small. (5.) Colour purple, white, or yellow. (The flowers grow in "racemes.") (6.) These plants differ from the poppies in having a watery juice. The properties of the tribe are on the whole worthy of special notice. not W. Shall I write down their distinctions once more? P. No, not now. I have today to introduce to you a highly important and respectable order, viz. : P. It is one of our wild flow-Order 6. CRUCIFORM PLANTS. You may find it in the Ion. Please let us see one of corn fields and other places in the the members, papa. ers. P. Here is a distinguished member; its name is Brassica. Ion. Why, papa, this is a cabbage! but I suppose that Brassica is its Latin name? Ion. Before you leave off, will you mention the different kinds of cabbage, papa? P. There are a great many varieties; I will tell you of one P. No; the word Brassica or two. I think that in Britain comes from the Celtic word we must always have had the Bresic, which means a cabbage. wild cabbage, or sea colewort But we will begin to-day with (Brássica oleàcea).__ It is found the varieties of the order. I growing on the Dover cliffs, will introduce the members. and other parts of the seashore, Here they are-the common and it is supposed that the vacabbage, brocoli, cauliflower, rious cultivated kinds in Britain turnip, mustard, cress, radish, have sprung from it. In differhorse-radish, water-cress,candy-ent parts of the world there are tuft,wall-flower, scurvy grass, &c. the Scotch kale, sea-kale, the W. We know most of these palm kale, the cow cabbage, the very well, papa. These are the different savoys, the common cruciform plants which we heard white cabbage, the red cabbage, of in "Fireside Facts." the cauliflower, and others. L. And they belong to the class Tetradynamia. P. Yes, but we will talk about that when you notice their parts. Let us first talk of the varieties and their uses. The turnips are another variety of cabbage (Brassica Napus), such as the white, yellow, and purple turnips, and the Swedish turnip. Another plant allied to the turnip is the BrasNot many of these plants are sica Rapa, yielding the rape "indigenous" to Britain. It is seed, which you know so well. a question whether Cassibelau- All these plants form one tribe nus ever tasted cabbage. Per- in the order called THE CABhaps even Queen Boadicea BAGE TRIBE. The Mustard could not have boiled a cab-plant is in tribe 2 (Sinapis). In bage, for it is likely that the tribe 3 (Nasturtium), we have plant was introduced by the the Water-cress. In tribe 4 (CarRomans. It is said that cab- damine), we have the Lady'sbages of some sort must have smock. In tribe 5 (Aliaria), been known to the Saxons, for Jack by the hedge. In tribe 6 they named the month of Fe-(Cheiranthus), the Wallflower, bruary "sprout kale." Stock, &c. These tribes belong The turnip, too, was little to the FIRST DIVISION of the eaten here until Henry VIII.'s order. time, and the radish has only The tribes to which the Canbeen used in England about dytuft, Garden-cress, Honesty, 300 years. The cauliflower and Shepherd's purse belong, and brocoli also were introduced form the SECOND DIVISION. by the Dutch gardeners from Flanders, between 200 and 300 years ago. The tribe to which the Radish belongs is in the THIRD DIVI SION. |