Practical Grammar and Composition Part 1

Practical Grammar and Composition.

by Thomas Wood.

PREFACE

This book was begun as a result of the author's experience in teaching some cla.s.ses in English in the night preparatory department of the Carnegie Technical Schools of Pittsburg. The pupils in those cla.s.ses were all adults, and needed only such a course as would enable them to express themselves in clear and correct English.

English Grammar, with them, was not to be preliminary to the grammar of another language, and composition was not to be studied beyond the everyday needs of the practical man.

Great difficulty was experienced because of inability to secure a text that was suited to the needs of the cla.s.s. A book was needed that would be simple, direct and dignified; that would cover grammar, and the essential principles of sentence structure, choice of words, and general composition; that would deal particularly with the sources of frequent error, and would omit the non-essential points; and, finally that would contain an abundance of exercises and practical work.

It is with these ends in view that this book has been prepared. The parts devoted to grammar have followed a plan varying widely from that of most grammars, and an effort has been made to secure a more sensible and effective treatment. The parts devoted to composition contain brief expositions of only the essential principles of ordinary composition. Especial stress has been laid upon letter-writing, since this is believed to be one of the most practical fields for actual composition work. Because such a style seemed best suited to the general scheme and purpose of the book, the method of treatment has at times been intentionally rather formal.

Abundant and varied exercises have been incorporated at frequent intervals throughout the text. So far as was practicable the exercises have been kept constructive in their nature, and upon critical points have been made very extensive.

The author claims little credit except for the plan of the book and for the labor that he has expended in developing the details of that plan and in devising the various exercises. In the statement of principles and in the working out of details great originality would have been as undesirable as it was impossible. Therefore, for these details the author has drawn from the great common stores of learning upon the subjects discussed. No doubt many traces of the books that he has used in study and in teaching may be found in this volume. He has, at times, consciously adapted matter from other texts; but, for the most part, such slight borrowings as may be discovered have been made wholly unconsciously. Among the books to which he is aware of heavy literary obligations are the following excellent texts: Lockwood and Emerson's Composition and Rhetoric, Sherwin Cody's Errors in Composition, A. H. Espenshade's Composition and Rhetoric, Edwin C. Woolley's Handbook of Composition, McLean, Blaisdell and Morrow's Steps in English, Huber Gray Buehler's Practical Exercises in English, and Carl C. Marshall's Business English.

To Messrs. Ginn and Company, publishers of Lockwood and Emerson's Composition and Rhetoric, and to the Goodyear-Marshall Publis.h.i.+ng Company, publishers of Marshall's Business English, the author is indebted for their kind permission to make a rather free adaptation of certain parts of their texts.

Not a little grat.i.tude does the author owe to those of his friends who have encouraged and aided him in the preparation of his ma.n.u.script, and to the careful criticisms and suggestions made by those persons who examined the completed ma.n.u.script in behalf of his publishers.

Above all, a great debt of grat.i.tude is owed to Mr. Grant Norris, Superintendent of Schools, Braddock, Pennsylvania, for the encouragement and painstaking aid he has given both in preparation of the ma.n.u.script and in reading the proof of the book.

T.W.

BRADDOCK, PENNSYLVANIA.

CHAPTER I

SENTENCES.--PARTS OF SPEECH.--ELEMENTS OF THE SENTENCE.--PHRASES AND CLAUSES

1. In thinking we arrange and a.s.sociate ideas and objects together.

Words are the symbols of ideas or objects. A SENTENCE is a group of words that expresses a single complete thought.

2. SENTENCES are of four kinds:

1. DECLARATIVE; a sentence that tells or declares something; as, _That book is mine_.

2. IMPERATIVE; a sentence that expresses a command; as, _Bring me that book_.

3. INTERROGATIVE; a sentence that asks a question; as, _Is that book mine?_

4. EXCLAMATORY; a declarative, imperative, or interrogative sentence that expresses violent emotion, such as terror, surprise, or anger; as, _You shall take that book!_ or, _Can that book be mine?_

3. PARTS OF SPEECH. Words have different uses in sentences. According to their uses, words are divided into cla.s.ses called Parts of Speech.

The parts of speech are as follows:

1. NOUN; a word used as the name of something; as, _man, box, Pittsburgh, Harry, silence, justice_.

2. p.r.o.nOUN; a word used instead of a noun; as, _I, he, it, that._

Nouns, p.r.o.nouns, or groups of words that are used as nouns or p.r.o.nouns, are called by the general term, SUBSTANTIVES.

3. ADJECTIVE; a word used to limit or qualify the meaning of a noun or a p.r.o.noun; as, _good, five, tall, many_.

The words _a, an_, and _the_ are words used to modify nouns or p.r.o.nouns. They are adjectives, but are usually called ARTICLES.

4. VERB; a word used to state something about some person or thing; as, _do, see, think, make_.

5. ADVERB; a word used to modify the meaning of a verb, an adjective, or another adverb; as, _very, slowly, clearly, often_.

6. PREPOSITION; a word used to join a substantive, as a modifier, to some other preceding word, and to show the relation of the substantive to that word; as, _by, in, between, beyond_.

7. CONJUNCTION; a word used to connect words, phrases, clauses, and sentences; as, _and, but, if, although, or_.

8. INTERJECTION; a word used to express surprise or emotion; as, _Oh! Alas! Hurrah! Bah!_

Sometimes a word adds nothing to the meaning of the sentence, but helps to fill out its form or sound, and serves as a device to alter its natural order. Such a word is called an EXPLETIVE. In the following sentence _there_ is an expletive: _THERE are no such books in print_.

4. A sentence is made up of distinct parts or elements. The essential or PRINc.i.p.aL ELEMENTS are the Subject and the Predicate.

The SUBJECT of a sentence is the part which mentions that about which something is said. The PREDICATE is the part which states that which is said about the subject. _Man walks_. In this sentence, _man_ is the subject, and _walks_ is the predicate.

The subject may be simple or modified; that is, may consist of the subject alone, or of the subject with its modifiers. The same is true of the predicate. Thus, in the sentence, _Man walks_, there is a simple subject and a simple predicate. In the sentence, _The good man walks very rapidly_, there is a modified subject and a modified predicate.

There may be, also, more than one subject connected with the same predicate; as, _THE MAN AND THE WOMAN walk_. This is called a COMPOUND SUBJECT. A COMPOUND PREDICATE consists of more than one predicate used with the same subject; as, _The man BOTH WALKS AND RUNS_.

5. Besides the princ.i.p.al elements in a sentence, there are SUBORDINATE ELEMENTS. These are the Attribute Complement, the Object Complement, the Adjective Modifier, and the Adverbial Modifier.

Some verbs, to complete their sense, need to be followed by some other word or group of words. These words which "complement," or complete the meanings of verbs are called COMPLEMENTS.

The ATTRIBUTE COMPLEMENT completes the meaning of the verb by stating some cla.s.s, condition, or attribute of the subject; as, _My friend is a STUDENT, I am WELL, The man is GOOD Student, well_, and _good_ complete the meanings of their respective verbs, by stating some cla.s.s, condition, or attribute of the subjects of the verbs.

The attribute complement usually follows the verb _be_ or its forms, _is, are, was, will be_, etc. The attribute complement is usually a noun, p.r.o.noun, or adjective, although it may be a phrase or clause fulfilling the function of any of these parts of speech. It must not be confused with an adverb or an adverbial modifier. In the sentence, _He is THERE, there_ is an adverb, not an attribute complement.

The verb used with an attribute complement, because such verb _joins_ the subject to its attribute, is called the COPULA ("to couple") or COPULATIVE VERB.

Some verbs require an object to complete their meaning. This object is called the OBJECT COMPLEMENT. In the sentence, _I carry a BOOK_, the object, _book_, is required to complete the meaning of the transitive verb _carry_; so, also in the sentences, _I hold the HORSE_, and _I touch a DESK_, the objects _horse_ and _desk_ are necessary to complete the meanings of their respective verbs. These verbs that require objects to complete their meaning are called Transitive Verbs.

ADJECTIVE and ADVERBIAL MODIFIERS may consist simply of adjectives and adverbs, or of phrases and clauses used as adjectives or adverbs.

6. A PHRASE is a group of words that is used as a single part of speech and that does not contain a subject and a predicate.

A PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE, always used as either an adjective or an adverbial modifier, consists of a preposition with its object and the modifiers of the object; as, _He lives IN PITTSBURG, Mr. Smith OF THIS PLACE is the manager OF THE MILL, The letter is IN THE NEAREST DESK_.

There are also Verb-phrases. A VERB-PHRASE is a phrase that serves as a verb; as, _I AM COMING, He SHALL BE TOLD, He OUGHT TO HAVE BEEN TOLD_.