Practical Exercises in English Part 2

[9] "Foundations," pp. 34-39.

EXERCISE VI.

_Insert the proper article ("a," "an," or "the") in each blank place in the following, if an article is needed; if no article is needed, leave the place blank_:--

1. I began to suffer from ---- want of food.

2. There are two articles, the definite and ---- indefinite.

3. He did not say what kind of ---- horse he wanted to buy.

4. Did Macaulay die of ---- heart disease?

5. Nouns have two numbers, ---- singular and ---- plural.

6. ---- third and ---- fourth page are to be learned.

7. ---- third and ---- fourth pages are to be learned.

8. Many names of ---- states are derived from ---- Indian tongues.

9. This is a curious species of ---- rose.

10. Study carefully ---- first and ---- second chapters.

11. A black and ---- white boy were walking together.

12. ---- violet is my favorite flower; ---- robin, my favorite bird.

13. There is an impenetrable veil between ---- visible and ---- invisible world.

14. ---- lion is ---- king of beasts.

15. Thackeray was a greater writer than ---- artist. Thackeray was greater as ---- writer than as ---- artist.

16. The bank closed its doors from ---- lack of ready money.

17. I despise not ---- giver, but ---- gift.

18. ---- whole is greater than any of its parts.

19. He is ent.i.tled to the name of ---- scholar.

20. I do not use that sort of ---- pen.

21. In ---- warm weather you do not need so many wraps as in ---- cold weather.

22. The Queen conferred on Tennyson the t.i.tle of ---- baron.

23. It does not matter what kind of ---- man is appointed.

24. It is found in both ---- old and ---- new editions.

25. The fourth and ---- fifth verse.

26. The fourth and ---- fifth verses.

27. Abraham Lincoln was ---- great and ---- good man.

28. ---- families of ---- strikers are sadly in ---- need of food.

29. Here are two bottles, ---- one empty, ---- other full of ---- red liquid.

30. Ariel had ---- power to control ---- sea.

31. Evangeline travelled far in ---- search of Gabriel.

33. Ill.u.s.trate by an original sentence ---- preterite and ---- past participle of the following verbs.

33. To ---- student of Latin or Greek a knowledge of ---- difference in meaning in English between ---- indicative and ---- subjunctive is especially important.

34. In the verb "to be" ---- present and ---- past subjunctives have different forms.

35. ---- life in Madras in ---- time of Clive was different from what it is now.

36. I like so many sports that it is hard to tell which I like ---- best.

I like swimming, foot-ball, and riding more than ---- others, but I do not know which of these three I like ---- best.

CHAPTER III.

OF NOUNS

HOW TO FORM THE POSSESSIVE CASE.[10]--As a rule, the possessive of nouns in the SINGULAR number is formed by adding an apostrophe and "s"

('s): as, "The _boy's_ coat." Often the p.r.o.nunciation of the added "s"

makes a new syllable; and if this additional syllable makes an unpleasant sound, the possessive is indicated by the apostrophe alone ('): as, "For _goodness'_ sake." The putting in or the leaving out of the "s" in such cases is chiefly a matter of taste. If the "s" is sounded, it is always written; and whenever there is doubt, it is well to follow the regular rule: as, "_Horace's_ odes," "_Charles's_ ball," "_d.i.c.kens's_ David Copperfield."

In the PLURAL number, when the nominative plural ends in "s," the possessive case is formed by adding an apostrophe alone ('). If the nominative plural does not end in "s," an apostrophe and an "s" ('s) are both added, as in the singular: as, "_Men's_ and _boys'_ shoes."

The possessive case of COMPOUND nouns and expressions used as compound nouns is formed by adding the proper sign of the possessive to the end of the compound: as, "That is my _sister-in-law's_ pony," "This is the _Prince of Wales's_ palace."

[10] "Foundations," pp. 41-43.

EXERCISE VII.[11]

1. _Write the possessive case, singular and plural, of:_ Actor, king, fairy, calf, child, goose, lady, monkey, mouse, ox, woman, deer, eagle, princess, elephant, man, witness, prince, fox, farmer, countess, mouth, horse, day, year, lion, wolf, thief, Englishman.

2. _Write the possessive case of:_ James, d.i.c.kens, his sister Mary, Miss Austen, the Prince of Wales, Frederick the Great, Harper and Brothers, father-in-law, Charles, Jones, William the Conqueror, Henry the Eighth, man-of-war, Douglas, Eggleston and Company.

USE and MISUSE of the POSSESSIVE CASE.[12]--It is sometimes a question whether to use the possessive form or the preposition _of_. "As a general rule, the possessive case should be confined to cases of possession."[13]

[11] TO THE TEACHER.--To have its full value this should be given as a dictation exercise.

[12] "Foundations," pp. 43-44.

[13] Ibid., p. 44.

EXERCISE VIII.

_Express relation between the words in the following pairs by putting one of them in the possessive case or by using the preposition "of," as may seem best:--_

Charles the Second, reign; witness, testimony; horse, hoof; the President, public reception; Partridge, restaurant; aide-de-camp, horse; General Armistead, death; Henry the Eighth, wives; Napoleon, Berlin decree; teacher, advice; eagle, talons; enemy, repulse;[14] book, cover; princess, evening gowns; France, army; Napoleon, defeat; Napoleon, camp-chest; Major Andre, capture; Demosthenes, orations; gunpowder, invention; mountain, top; summer, end; Was.h.i.+ngton, sword; Franklin, staff; torrent, force; America, metropolis; city, streets; strike, beginning; church, spire; we (our, us), midst; year, events; Guiteau, trial; sea, bottom; Ess.e.x, death; Adams, administration; six months, wages; world, government.

[14] There is, properly, no "objective possessive" in English corresponding to the "objective genitive" in other languages. It seems best to say "The siege of Paris," rather than "Paris's siege."

EXERCISE IX.

_Distinguish between the following:--_ 1. The President's reception. The reception of the President.

2. Mother's love. Love of mother.

3. A sister's care. Care of a sister.

4. A brother's picture. The picture of a brother.

5. Clive's reception in London. The reception of Clive in London.

6. Charles and Harry's toys. Charles's and Harry's toys.

7. Let me tell you a story of Doctor Brown (Brown's).

EXERCISE X.