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CHAPTER V

THE SENTENCE: ITS GRAMMATICAL STRUCTURE

48. OUR METHOD OF PROCEDURE. - 49. THE SENTENCE, THE CLAUSE, AND THE PHRASE. EXERCISE 19. - 50. SIMPLE, COM

PLEX, AND COMPOUND SENTENCES. EXERCISE 20.-51. ANALYSIS OF SIMPLE SENTENCES. EXERCISE 21.-52. ANALYSIS OF COMPLEX AND COMPOUND SENTENCES. EXERCISE 22.53. FUNDAMENTAL ERRORS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF SENTENCES. EXERCISE 23.

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48. Our Method of Procedure. The principles of rhetoric are of two sorts, those that concern the choice of words and those that concern the arrangement of words. We shall assume for some little time that the pupil chooses the words best suited for his purpose, and confine ourselves for the moment to helping him to arrange his words in the most effective manner. Later we shall return to the matter of the choice of words.

49. The Sentence, the Clause, and the Phrase. It is impossible to understand the rhetorical principles that govern the arrangement of words without having clearly in mind the grammatical principles that govern sentence-structure. It is of the utmost importance that the pupil should be able to analyze sentences readily, distinguishing modifiers from the

words or phrases they modify, and subordinate clauses from principal clauses. In order to make sure that the pupil is fully acquainted with the process of analysis, some time must be spent in reviewing certain essential parts of English grammar, beginning with the following points:

(1) Groups of words containing a subject and a predicate are called clauses; e.g. that he should be there; if he comes; whoever he is.

(2) A principal, or independent, clause is one that makes by itself a complete statement; e.g. I shall go.

(3) A subordinate, or dependent, clause is one that is meaningless unless associated with a principal clause; e.g. if I go.

(4) A sentence must contain at least one principal clause; e.g. “If he comes, I shall leave the room."

(5) Groups of words that do not contain a subject and a predicate are called phrases; e.g. at last, to conclude the matter.

(6) Groups of words, whether clauses or phrases, may be classified as equivalent to nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. For example, in "that he should be there surprises me greatly," the italicized words form a noun-group, the subject of the verb surprises; in "he could have gone," a verbgroup, of which he is the subject; in "the watch that I bought," an adjective-group, modifying watch; in "I struck him by accident," an adverb-group, modifying struck.

EXERCISE 19

I. In the following passage the words in certain groups are connected by hyphens. Tell which groups are phrases and which clauses.

"Within-our-beds awhile we heard
The wind that-round-the-gables-roared,
With now-and-then a ruder shock,
Which-made-our-very-bedsteads-rock.
We heard the loosened clapboards tost,
The boardnails snapping in-the-frost ;
And on us, through-the-unplastered-wall,
Felt the light sifted snowflakes fall.
But sleep stole on as-sleep-will-do
When-hearts-are-light and [when]-life-is-new.

- WHITTIER: Snow-Bound.

II. In the following sentences pick out (a) the phrases, (b) the subordinate clauses.1 Are they equivalent to nouns, verbs, adjectives, or adverbs?

1. That you were there is well known. 2. Bunyan has told us, with very pardonable vanity, that in New England his dream was the daily subject of the conversation of thousands. 3. He who hesitates is lost. 4. There I saw a sight that can be better described than [it can be] imagined. 5. The spot where I stood I remember distinctly. 6. As he walked on, he stopped his song. 7. If you are responsible for it, I advise you to be careful. 8. Seeing the hill, he stopped. 9. It is hard to understand you.

1 If further practice be necessary, a similar exercise may be based on any of the passages quoted elsewhere in the volume.

III. Construct (1) three sentences consisting each of only one clause; (2) three consisting each of one principal and two subordinate clauses; (3) three consisting each of two principal and two subordinate clauses.

50. Simple, Complex, and Compound Sentences. Sentences may be classified, according to their form, as (1) simple, (2) complex, or (3) compound.

(1) A simple sentence contains only a single statement, command, or question; e.g. (a) "the rain is falling;" (b) "rain and hail were pouring down;" (c) "it thunders and lightens terribly." It should be noticed that in a simple sentence there may be more than one subject, as in (b); more than one predicate, as in (c); or even both, as in (d), "the rain and hail began in an instant and poured down incessantly." Even in the last case, however, the form of a simple statement is preserved, for each subject applies to each verb, and vice versa.

(2) A complex sentence contains one simple or principal statement, command, or question, and one or more subordinate clauses; e.g. "the rain fell so fast that we were drenched through before we could reach home."

(3) A compound sentence contains two or more principal statements, frequently united by conjunctions; e.g. "the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew." Each principal statement may, however, be modified by subordinate clauses.

EXERCISE 20

I. Are the following sentences simple, complex, or compound? In the complex and compound sentences, point out the principal and subordinate clauses.

"In the short action and pursuit, the French lost fifteen hundred men, killed, wounded, and taken. Of the remainder, some escaped within the city, and others fled across the St. Charles to rejoin their comrades who had been left to guard the camp. The pursuers were recalled by sound of trumpet; the broken ranks were formed afresh, and the English troops withdrawn beyond reach of the cannon of Quebec. Bougainville, with his corps, arrived from the upper country, and, hovering about their rear, threatened an attack; but when he saw what greeting was prepared for him, he abandoned his purpose and withdrew. Townshend and Murray, the only general officers who remained unhurt, passed to the head of every regiment in turn, and thanked the soldiers for the bravery they had shown; yet the triumph of the victors was mingled with sadness, as the tidings went from rank to rank that Wolfe had fallen."

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- PARKMAN: Conspiracy of Pontiac.

II. Write three complex sentences; a compound sentence with two principal clauses, each of which is modified by a subordinate clause; and two other compound sentences.

51. Analysis of Simple Sentences. To analyze a simple sentence it is necessary to find (1) the subject, (2) the predicate, (3) the object or predicate complement, (4) the modifiers of the subject, (5) the modifiers of the predicate, (6) the modifiers of the object or predicate complement. Modifiers of the subject,

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