The Century Handbook of Writing Part 30

In such sentences as "He fell back, exhausted" and "Running down the street, I collided with a baby carriage," the participle refers in part to the verb and is therefore adverbial as well as adjectival.

=Phrase.= A group of words forming a subordinate part of a sentence and not containing a subject and its verb. Examples: _With a whistle and a roar_ the train arrived [prepositional phrase]. _Bowing his head_, the prisoner listened to the verdict of the jury [participial phrase]. In a loose, untechnical sense _phrase_ may refer to any short group of words, even if the group includes a subject and its verb.

=Predicate.= The word or word-group in a sentence which makes an a.s.sertion about the subject. It consists of a finite verb with or without objects or modifiers.

=Predicate adjective.= An adjective in the predicate, usually linked with the subject by some form of the verb _to be_ (_is_, _was_, _were_, etc.). (John is _lazy_. The soldiers were very _eager_.)

=Predicate noun.= A noun linked with the subject by some form of the verb _to be_. (John is _halfback._ They were our _neighbors._)

=Sentence.= A sentence is a group of words containing (1) a subject (with or without modifiers) and a predicate (with or without modifiers) and not grammatically dependent on any words outside of itself; or (2) two or more such expressions related in thought. Sentences of type 1 are simple or complex; sentences of type 2 are compound. A =simple sentence= contains one independent clause (The dog barks angrily). A =complex sentence= contains one independent clause and one or more subordinate clauses (The dog barks when the thief appears). A =compound sentence= contains two or more independent clauses (The dog barks, and the thief runs).

=Substantive.= A noun or a word standing in place of a noun. (The _king_ summoned _parliament_. The _bravest_ are the _tenderest_. _She_ was inconsolable.) A =substantive phrase= is a phrase used as a noun. (_From Dan to Beersheba_ is a term for the whole of Israel.) A =substantive clause= is a clause used as a noun. (_That he owed the money_ is certain.)

=Syntax.= Construction; the grammatical relation between the words, phrases, and clauses in a sentence.

=Verbal.= Any form of the verb used as another part of speech.

Infinitives, gerunds, and participles are verbals. They are used to express action without a.s.serting it, and cannot, therefore, have subjects or be used as predicate verbs.

=Abridged Conjugation of the verb _to take_=

=Tense= =Active Voice= =Pa.s.sive Voice=

=Indicative Mode=

=Present= I take I am taken =Past= I took I was taken =Future= I shall (will) take I shall (will) be taken =Perfect= I have taken I have been taken =Past Perfect= I had taken I had been taken =Future Perfect= I shall (will) have taken I shall (will) have been taken

=Subjunctive Mode=

=Present= If I take If I be taken =Past= If I took If I were taken =Perfect= If I have taken If I have been taken =Past Perfect= If I had taken If I had been taken

=Imperative Mode=

=Present= Take

=Modal Aspects=

(Modal aspects, formed by combining auxiliaries with the main verb, give special meanings--emphatic, progressive, etc.--to the primary modes.

Since there are almost as many aspects as there are auxiliaries, only a few can be enumerated here.)

=Tense= =Active Voice= =Pa.s.sive Voice=

{ =Emphatic:= I do take { =Progressive:= I am taking I am being taken =Present= { =Contingent:= I may take I may be taken =Indicative= { =Potential:= I can take I can be taken { =Obligative:= I must take I must be taken { =Etc.=

{ =Emphatic:= I did take { =Progressive:= I was taking I was being taken =Past= { =Contingent:= I might take I might be taken =Indicative= { =Potential:= I could take I could be taken { =Obligative:= I must take I must be taken { =Etc.=

{ =Emphatic:= If I do take { =Progressive:= If I be taking =Present= { =Contingent:= If I might take =Subjunctive= { =Potential:= If I could take { =Obligative:= If I must take { =Etc.=

=Present= { =Emphatic:= Do take =Imperative= { =Progressive:= Be taking

=Verbals=

=Infinitive=

=Active Voice= =Pa.s.sive Voice= =Present:= To take To be taken =Perfect:= To have taken To have been taken

=Gerund=

=Present:= Taking Being taken =Perfect:= Having taken Having been taken

=Participle=

=Present:= Taking Being taken =Past:= Taken =Perfect:= Having taken Having been taken

Exercise:

Copy a page of good prose from any book, leaving wide s.p.a.ces between the lines. Indicate the part of speech of every word.

This may be done by abbreviations placed beneath the words. For example:

"Von Arden, having fallen into a very unquiet _noun_ _part._ _prep._ _art._ _adv._ _adj._

slumber, dreamed that he was an aged man _noun_ _verb_ _conj._ _pers pro._ _verb_ _art._ _adj._ _noun_

who stood beside a window."

_rel. pro._ _verb_ _prep._ _art._ _noun_

=59.= EXERCISE IN GRAMMAR

=A. Case of p.r.o.nouns=

Determine the correct form of the p.r.o.noun.

1. It is (I, me).

2. No one knows better than (she, her).

3. Then came the whistle for Gerald and (I, me).

4. It was (they, them).

5. Alice can drive a car as well as (he, him).

6. It was (she, her) (who, whom) you saw on the car.

7. John, you may go with Dan and (I, me).

8. If I were (she, her), I could not think of accepting the questionable honor.