Composition-Rhetoric Part 67

Old Sir Thomas Browne shrewdly observes: "Every man is not only himself. There have been many Diogeneses and many Timons though but few of the name. Men are lived over again. The world is now as it was in ages past. There were none then, but there has been one since, that parallels him, and is, as it were, revived self."

--George Dana Boardman.

Adjectives are divided into two general cla.s.ses: descriptive and definitive adjectives.

The following members sent in their resignations: Mrs. William M.

Murphy, Mrs. Ralph B. Wiltsie, and Mrs. John C. Clark.

2. The colon is used to separate the different members of a compound sentence, when they themselves are divided by semicolons.

It is too warm to-day; the suns.h.i.+ne is too bright; the shade, too pleasant: we will wait until to-morrow or we will have some one else do it when the busy time is over.

+8. Rules for the Use of the Period.+--1. The period is used at the close of imperative and declarative sentences.

2. All abbreviations should be followed by a period.

+9. Rule for the Use of the Interrogation Mark.+--The interrogation mark should be used after all direct questions.

+10. Rule for the Use of the Exclamation Mark.+--Interjections and exclamatory words and expressions should be followed by the exclamation mark. Sometimes the exclamatory word is only a part of the whole exclamation. In this case, the exclamatory word should be followed by a comma, and the entire exclamation by an exclamation mark.

See, how the lightning flashes!

+11. Rules for the Use of the Dash.+--1. The dash is used to show sudden changes in thought or breaks in speech.

I can speak of this better when temptation comes my way--if it ever does.

2. The dash is often used in the place of commas or marks of parenthesis to set off parenthetical expressions.

In the mountains of New York State this most valuable tree--the spruce-- abounds.

3. The dash, either alone or in connection with the comma, is used to point out that part of a sentence on which special stress is to be placed.

I saw unpruned fruit trees, broken fences, and farm implements, rusting in the rain--all evidences of wasted time.

4. The dash is sometimes used with the colon before long quotations, before an enumeration of things, or before a formally introduced statement.

+12. Rules for the Use of Quotation Marks.+--1. Quotation marks are used to inclose direct quotations.

"In all the great affairs of life one must run some risk," she remarked.

2. A quotation within a quotation is usually indicated by single quotation marks.

"Can you tell me where I can find 'Rienzi's Address'?" asked a young lady of a clerk in Brooklyn.

3. When a quotation is interrupted by parenthetical expressions, the different parts of the quotation should be inclosed in quotation marks.

"Bring forth," cried the monarch, "the vessels of gold."

4. When the quotation consists of several paragraphs, the quotation marks are placed at the beginning of each paragraph and at the close of the last one.

+13. Rule for the Use of the Apostrophe.+--The apostrophe is used to denote the possessive case, to indicate the omission of letters, and to form the plural of signs, figures, and letters.

In the teacher's copy book you will find several fancy A's and 3's which can't be distinguished from engravings.

II. REVIEW OF GRAMMAR

THE SENTENCE

+14. English grammar+ is the study of the forms of English words and their relations.h.i.+p to one another as they appear in sentences. A _sentence_ is a group of words that expresses a complete thought.

+15. Elements of a Sentence.+--The elements of a sentence, as regards the office that they perform, are the _subject_ and the _predicate_. The _subject_ is that about which something is a.s.serted, and the _predicate_ is that which a.s.serts something about the subject.

Some predicates may consist of a single word or word-group, able in itself to complete a sentence: [The thrush _sings_. The thrush _has been singing_]. Some require a following word or words: [William struck _John_ (object complement, or object). Edward became _king_ (attribute complement). The people made Edward _king_ (objective complement)].

The necessary parts of a sentence are: some name for the object of thought (to which the general term _substantive_ may be given); some word or group of words to make a.s.sertion concerning the substantive (general term, _a.s.sertive_); and, in case of an incomplete a.s.sertive, one of the above given completions of its meaning (object complement, attribute complement, objective complement).

In addition to these necessary elements of the sentence, words or groups of words may be added to make the meaning of any one of the elements more exact. Such additions are known as _modifiers_. The word-groups which are used as modifiers are the _phrase_ and the _clause_.

[The thrush, sings _in the pine woods_ (phrase). The wayfarer _who hears the thrush_ is indeed fortunate (clause).]

Both the subject and the predicate may be unmodified: