(2) THE PREDICATE What we say or ask about the subject is called the Predicate. In the sentences which have been given runs, was sent, and did begin are the predicates. THE DIRECT OBJECT (3) Often the subject of a sentence is said to do something which directly affects a person or thing. In the sentence The man helps his brother the act which the subject does directly affects the brother. A word which is used to denote a person or thing directly affected by an act is said to be the Direct Object. In the sentence above brother is the direct object. In like manner, in the sentences My father built a house and The fire destroyed the city the words house and city are direct objects. (4) Point out the subjects, the predicates, and the direct objects in the following sentences: 1. The heavy storm had injured many trees. 2. My father has read this book. 3. The horses draw a heavy load. 4. Your uncle built a new house. 5. My letter has been sent. 6. Where was the money found? 7. This picture has often been admired. 8. Why did these men leave their homes? 9. Columbus discovered a new continent. 10. These books contain many interesting stories. PARTS OF SPEECH: THE NOUN (5) The words man, brother, house, fire, and city are words which denote persons or things. Such words are called Nouns. THE VERB (6) The words help, built, and destroyed denote acts. Words ́ which are used to denote acts are called Verbs. a. There are also some verbs which represent the subject merely as being in a place or in a particular situation. Such verbs as stay, remain, continue, live, be are of this kind. THE PRONOUN (7) In the sentence The man saw the boy, but did not speak to him, the word him is used instead of boy. A word which is used instead of a noun is called a Pronoun. Pronouns, as well as nouns, are used as subjects or as direct objects. (8) The word instead of which a pronoun is used is called its Antecedent. In the sentence given above boy is the antecedent of him. CLASSES OF PRONOUNS (9) The pronouns I, you, he, she, it, we, and they are called Personal pronouns. When who, which, and what are used to introduce questions they are called Interrogative pronouns. When they are used in sentences which are not questions they are called Relative pronouns. Thus, in the sentence Who gave you the knife? who is an interrogative pronoun. In the sentence It was my mother who gave me the knife, who is a relative pronoun. Sometimes that is used instead of who or which. Thus, The man that just came in is my uncle. When so used, that is a relative pronoun. THE ADJECTIVE (10) We often use some other word with a noun to tell something about the appearance or the character of the person or thing to which the noun refers. Thus, in the expressions tall trees and brave men the words tall and brave tell something about the trees and the men. Such words are called adjectives. a. There are a few adjectives which merely show what person or thing is meant without telling any quality of the person or thing. Such are this, that, other, same. The, a, and an, also belong in this class. THE ADVERB (11) We often use a word with a verb to tell how an action is done. In the sentence He runs swiftly the word swiftly tells how the act of the verb runs is done. Such words are called Adverbs. Adverbs are also used to tell something about adjectives and even about other adverbs. In the expressions too small and very swiftly the adverbs too and very tell something about the adjective small and the adverb swiftly. THE PREPOSITION (12) There is a class of small words such as of, in, with, by, from, which are used with nouns or pronouns. The combination of one of these words and the noun or pronoun which is used with it serves to tell something about an act or about a person or thing. These words are called Prepositions. The noun or pronoun which follows a preposition is called its Object, or the preposition is said to govern the noun or pronoun which follows it. In the sentence I live in the city the word city is the object of in. THE CONJUNCTION (13) The words and, but, and or are used to join words or parts of sentences. In the sentence Your father and mother are not in the city the word and is used to join the words father and mother. In like manner, in the sentence The train is late, but it will soon arrive the word but joins the two parts of the sentence The train is late and it will soon arrive. Such words are called Conjunctions. Conjunctions of a somewhat different kind are because, although, if, and some other words. In the sentence I shall go if I receive the letter the conjunction if is used to join the verb shall go and I receive the letter. EXERCISE (14) Make lists of the words in section (4), putting the nouns in one list, the verbs in another, and in like manner grouping together the other parts of speech. Find five relative pronouns in one of your other books. GENDER (15) We use the pronoun he when we are referring to a man or boy or a male animal, the pronoun she when we are referring to a woman or girl or a female animal, and the pronoun it when we are referring to something without sex. Thus when we are speaking of a boy we may say He is a stranger, when speaking of a girl we may say She is not at home, and when speaking of a book we may say It is mine. This distinction in pronouns is called Gender. Such words as he are in the Masculine gender, such words as she are in the' Feminine gender, and such words as it are in the Neuter gender. Nouns also are said to have gender. Thus, brother is masculine, sister is feminine, and house is neuter. a. A word like friend which may refer to either a man or a woman is sometimes said to be in the Common gender. NUMBER (16) We have different forms of pronouns and also of nouns to show whether we are referring to one person or thing or to more than one. Thus I refers to one person, we refers to more than one. This distinction is called Number. I is in the Singular number, and we is in the Plural number. book is in the singular number and books is in the plural number. PERSON In the same way, (17) The pronoun I and its plural we refer to the person or persons speaking, and are said to be in the First Person; you refers to the person to whom one is speaking and is said to be in the Second Person, and he, she, and it (plural they) refer to a person or thing spoken of, and are said to be in the Third Person. Nouns are ordinarily in the third person. CASE (18) Such pronouns as he, she, and who have different forms to show how they are used in sentences. We say He walks, I see him, and I have his ball. In these sentences he is subject, him is direct object, and his refers to a person as possessing something. In like manner we use she and who as subjects, her and whom as direct objects of a verb or as objects of a prepo sition, and her (or hers) and whose to denote the person possessing something. A noun has the same form for the subject as for the object of a verb or a preposition, but it has a different form to refer to a person as possessing something. Thus we say The boy walks, I see the boy, I have the boy's ball. These different forms and uses of nouns and pronouns in sentences are called Cases or case-uses. The subject is in the Nominative case, the object of a verb or preposition is in the Accusative case, and the word referring to the possessor is in the Genitive case. EXERCISE (19) Give the gender, person, number, and case of the nouns and pronouns in section (4). Give the antecedent of the pronoun in sentence 8, section (4). TENSE OF VERBS (20) When someone says The boy stands in the street, we know that the act is going on while we are being told about it; that is, in the present time. If the sentence is The boy stood in the street, we know that the act took place at some past time, and similarly the sentence The boy will stand in the street shows that the act is going to take place in the future. In these sentences the form of the verb shows what is the time of the act. The forms of a verb which show time are called Tenses. There are six tenses in English. Their names are Present, Past, Future, Present Perfect, Past Perfect, and Future Perfect. The following forms of the verb walk with the subject I show how these tenses are used. PRESENT PAST FUTURE PRESENT PERFECT I walk I shall walk I have walked I shall have walked |