Plain English Part 50

Study them carefully and determine which are qualifying and which are limiting adjectives. Note that the possessive nouns and possessive p.r.o.nouns are _not_ adjectives. _Its_ in the phrases _its cruel fangs_ and _its savage claws_, is a possessive p.r.o.noun, third person singular.

In the last sentence _beggar's_, _miser's_, and _Ingersoll's_, are nouns in the possessive form.

_This terrible_ war in Europe is slaughtering _the_ working-cla.s.s.

_Gaunt_ famine follows war.

A _docile_, _meek_, _humble_, working-cla.s.s makes war _possible_.

_The shrieking_ sh.e.l.l snarls like a _living_ thing; like _some wild_ beast in _ferocious_ glee it thrusts its _cruel_ fangs in earth and rock and rends _living_ flesh with its _savage_ claws.

Its _fetid_ breath of _poison_ powder scorches in _the autumn_ winds.

_Shattered_ bones, _torn_ flesh and _flowing_ blood were mingled on _the_ battlefield with _broken_ swords and _split_ rifles.

_The best modern_ rifles will force _a_ bullet through _five human_ bodies at _a_ range of _twelve hundred_ feet.

_The pitiful_ dead, _slain_ in war, sleep under _the solemn_ pines, _the sad_ hemlock, _the tearful_ willow and _the embracing_ vines.

A world without _the_ beggar's _outstretched_ palm, _the_ miser's _heartless_ _stony_ stare, _the piteous_ wail of want, _the livid_ lips of lies, _the cruel_ eyes of scorn, was Ingersoll's vision of _the_ future.

QUALIFYING ADJECTIVES

+248.+ Qualifying adjectives are also called _descriptive_ adjectives because they describe the noun. They answer the questions _which_ and _what kind_.

You remember we found in the beginning of our study of English, that words were grouped into cla.s.ses according to the work which they do in the sentence, not according to the form of the word itself. For instance, we have already found that some words, without changing their form, may be used either as a noun or as a verb. Take the word _oil_, for instance. I may say, _I oil the engine_. Here I have used the word _oil_ as a verb telling what I do. But I may say, _The oil is gone_.

Here I have used the word _oil_ as a noun, subject of the sentence. The part of speech to which a word belongs in the English language, always depends upon the work which it does in the sentence.

+1.+ So we have nouns which are used as descriptive adjectives, for example the word _oil_, which we have found we can use either as a noun or a verb, may also be used as an adjective. For example; I may say, _the oil tank_. Here I have used the word _oil_ as a descriptive adjective modifying the word _tank_. So also we may say, _the oak tree_, _the stone curb_, _the earth wall_. In these expressions _oak_, _stone_ and _earth_ are nouns used as descriptive adjectives.

+2.+ We have descriptive adjectives derived from proper nouns, as French, English, American. These are called proper adjectives; and since all proper nouns must begin with a capital letter, these proper adjectives, also, should always begin with a capital letter.

+3.+ We have also descriptive adjectives derived from verbs as _active_, _talkative_, _movable_, _desirable_, derived by the addition of suffixes to the verbs _act_, _talk_, _move_ and _desire_.

LIMITING ADJECTIVES

+249.+ Limiting adjectives are also divided into cla.s.ses, the _numerals_, the _demonstratives_ and the _articles_.

Numeral Adjectives

+250.+ Numeral adjectives are those which limit nouns as to number or order. They are such adjectives as _one_, _two_, _three_, _four_, etc., and _first_, _second_ and _third_, etc., as for example:

_Three_ men applied for work.

The train ran at the rate of _forty_ miles an hour.

There have always been _two_ cla.s.ses in the world.

The _first_ martyr to anti-militarism was Jaures.

The _eighteenth_ day of March is the anniversary of the Paris Commune.

In these sentences the adjectives _three_, _forty_, _two_, _first_ and _eighteenth_ are all numeral adjectives. They limit the nouns which they modify as to number or order.

+Adjectives that limit nouns as to number or order are called numeral adjectives. Numeral adjectives answer the question how many or in what order.+

Demonstratives

+251.+ We have also a cla.s.s of adjectives which are used to point out some particular person or thing. These are called _demonstrative_ adjectives. Demonstrate means literally _to point out_. So these adjectives point out from a number of things, one particular thing to our attention. These demonstrative adjectives are _this_, _that_, _those_, _these_, _yonder_, _former_, _latter_ and _same_.

_These_ and _those_ are the plural forms of _this_ and _that_. _This_ and _these_ are used to point out things near at hand. _That_ and _those_ are used to point out things more distant, as _This is my book_.

_These are my papers_, meaning _this book_ or _these papers_, close to me. By, _That is my pencil_ and _Those are my letters_, I mean _that pencil_, and _those letters_, which are farther away from me.

_Former_ and _latter_ are used to show which of two things already mentioned is referred to, and to point out things in point of time, not of place. For example, we may say:

We no longer observe the _former_ customs, but rather prefer the _latter_.

He did not like his _former_ job but this _latter_ job pleases him.

You understand from this that we have been discussing and describing two kinds of work, and that the first in point of time was unpleasant and the second pleasant.

The demonstrative adjective _same_ refers to something of which we have just spoken, as for example, _He has gone to work, I must do the same thing_. These demonstrative adjectives answer the question which, so when you wish to discover a demonstrative in a sentence, ask the question _which_, and the answer will be the demonstrative adjective.

Exercise 2

1. _This_ study is very interesting.

2. _These_ comrades will stand by us.

3. _That_ solution will never deceive the people.

4. _Those_ books have opened our eyes.

5. _Yonder_ battle appals the world.

6. _Former_ investigations have had no results.

7. _This latter_ decision has reversed the _former_.

8. The cla.s.s struggle has persisted through the centuries; we are engaged in the _same_ struggle.

Make sentences of your own containing these demonstrative adjectives.

ARTICLES

+252.+ We have three adjectives which are used so commonly that we have put them in a cla.s.s by themselves. These three little words are _a_, _an_ and _the_, and we call them articles. The word _article_ literally means a little joint or limb, and these three little words are so closely connected with the nouns with which they are used that they seem to be a part or joint or limb of the noun itself, and so we have called them articles.

_A_ and _an_ are called the _indefinite_ articles because they point out an object in a very indefinite manner. _The_ is called the _definite_ article for it points out in a more definite way.

We use _a_ before words beginning with a consonant sound, as _a man_, _a tree_, _a book_; and we use _an_ before words beginning with a vowel sound, as _an apple_, _an editor_, _an orange_, _an heir_. In _heir_ the _h_ is silent, and we say _an_ because the word begins with a vowel sound. _A_ is used before words beginning with _u_ because long _u_ is equivalent in sound to a consonant, for the blending of the sounds of which long _u_ is composed produces the initial sound of _y_, which is a consonant sound. For example, we say, _a university_, _a useful work_, etc., and not _an university_. Before words beginning with short _u_, use _an_, as, _an upstart_, etc.

In deciding whether to use _a_ or _an_, watch the initial _sound_ of the word, not the initial _letter_. If it is a vowel sound use _an_, if a consonant sound, use _a_.

Exercise 3

Underscore the correct article in the following sentences:

1. Bring me an--a apple.

2. He is a--an able orator.

3. A--an heir was born to the German King.

4. He built a--an house for his family.

5. He is an--a honest man.

6. He is a--an undertaker.