Plain English Part 17

Exercise 4

Complete the following sentences by adding an object or a complement.

1. Perseverance in your study will bring.......

2. The great need of the working cla.s.s is.......

3. We shall never acknowledge.......

4. By the sweat of no other's brow shalt thou eat.......

5. The Revolutionary fathers founded.......

6. The workers demand.......

7. Labor's only road to freedom is.......

8. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are.......

9. If you struggle, you will gain.......

10. An incomplete verb requires.......

11. The complement of a transitive verb is called.......

12. The complement of a copulative verb may be either......or.......

+103. There are two cla.s.ses of verbs, complete and incomplete.+

+A complete verb is one that requires no complement.+

+An incomplete verb is one that requires a complement to complete its meaning.+

+Incomplete verbs are of two kinds: 1. Those that express action; 2.

Those that express state or condition.+

+Incomplete verbs that express action are called transitive verbs.+

+Incomplete verbs that express state or condition are called copulative verbs.+

+The complement or the word that denotes the receiver of the action expressed in a transitive verb is called the object.+

+The word or words that complete the meaning of a copulative verb are called the complement, or attribute complement.+

+The same verb may be complete or incomplete, according to the way in which it is used.+

Exercise 5

In the following sentences draw a single line under the complete verbs and a double line under the incomplete verbs. Then determine whether the incomplete verbs are transitive or copulative verbs, and draw a line through the object or the complement.

1. Some plants are poisonous.

2. A rolling stone gathers no moss.

3. Perseverance brings success.

4. Delays are dangerous.

5. A man's actions show his character.

6. He looks well and feels stronger.

7. The snows come and the flowers fade.

8. Labor creates all wealth.

9. Labor must be free.

10. The boy writes well.

11. The man wrote a letter.

12. The skies are clear.

13. The hail destroyed the wheat.

14. No man is ever too old to learn.

15. Compet.i.tion makes enemies.

16. Co-operation makes friends.

17. Compet.i.tion breeds hatred.

18. Co-operation breeds good will.

19. Compet.i.tion ensures war.

20. Co-operation ensures peace.

Exercise 6

In the following quotation all of the verbs are printed in _italics_.

Determine whether they are complete or incomplete verbs. If incomplete, determine whether they are transitive or copulative verbs. Draw a line under the object of every transitive verb and two lines under the complement of every copulative verb. Remember that sometimes we have several words combined into a verb phrase and used as a single verb.

Watch for the verb phrases in the following, as for example: _must be_, in the sentence, _Labor must be free_.

The history of man _is_ simply the history of slavery. Slavery _includes_ all other crimes. It _degrades_ labor and _corrupts_ leisure. With the idea that labor _is_ the basis of progress _goes_ the truth that labor _must be_ free. The laborer _must be_ a free man.

There _is_ something wrong in a government where honesty _wears_ a rag and rascality _dons_ a robe; where the loving _eat_ a crust while the infamous _sit_ at banquets.

_Talk_ about equal opportunity! Capitalism _ties_ a balloon to the shoulders of the rich child; it _ties_ a ball and chain to the feet of the poor child; and _tells_ them that they _have_ an equal opportunity!

Once the master _hunted_ for the slaves, now the slave _hunts_ for a master.

Exercise 7

Mark the verbs in the following poem. Often in poetry words are omitted which in strict grammatical construction should be expressed. As for example in the fourth line of this poem _which are_, is omitted before the word _bought_. In prose this would read, _The pews which are bought by the profits_, etc. So the word _bought_ is a part of the verb phrase, _are bought_. In the last line of the third stanza there is another omission before the word _planning_. The meaning is, _while they are planning slaughter_. _Planning_ is a part of the verb phrase _are planning_. And in the last line _is_ is omitted before the word _beloved_. _Is beloved_ is the verb phrase. Determine whether the verbs in this poem are complete, transitive or copulative, and mark the objects and the complements of the transitive and the copulative verbs.

WHO IS A CHRISTIAN?

_Ella Wheeler Wilc.o.x_

"Who is a Christian in this Christian land Of many churches and of lofty spires?

Not he who sits in soft, upholstered pews Bought by the profits of unholy greed, And looks devotion while he thinks of gain.

Not he who sends pet.i.tions from the lips That lie to-morrow in the street and mart.

Not he who fattens on another's toil, And flings his unearned riches to the poor Or aids the heathen with a lessened wage, And builds cathedrals with an increased rent.

Christ, with Thy great, sweet, simple creed of love, How must Thou weary of earth's "Christian" clans, Who preach salvation through Thy saving blood While planning slaughter of their fellow men.

Who is a Christian? It is one whose life Is built on love, on kindness and on faith; Who holds his brother as his other self; Who toils for justice, equity and peace, And hides no aim or purpose in his heart That will not chord with universal good.

Though he be a pagan, heretic or Jew That man is Christian and beloved of Christ."