Elements of composition and grammar

Front matter

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

ELEMENTS

Contents

CHAPTEK PAGE

I. Language and Grammar 1

II. Capitals, Punctuation, etc 3

Index

TO TEACHERS.

This book is designed for children who are old enough to learn the elements of grammar and who have had some elementary training in the use of language. After taking up the first three or four chapters by way of review, they may profitably begin to study the sentence and its elements ; that is to say, Chapters X. and following.

Practice in oral and written composition must, however, be continued throughout the entire school course, and for this purpose the first seventy-five pages furnish ample instruction and material. These pages are by no means to be used consecutively, but selections from them adapted to the varying needs of learners, are to be made in such a way that exercise in the use of language may constantly accompany the study of its structure.

[Teachers will find valuable suggestions as to methods, etc. ; additional exercises ; and a fuller treatment of certain subjects in •• Our Language," a larger work by the same authors, to which reference will be frequently made in the following pages.]

Chapter I. Language And Grammar. 1

1. Ever since we began to talk we have been learning the use of language : that is, we have been learning how to make other persons know what we want and what we think and how we feel, by speaking* to them in \vords which they will hear and understand.

As we grew older we learned to express our thoughts and feelings by writing- our words for others to see and read ; and in this way, if we were all deaf and dumb, we should still be able to use our language.

2. The letters used in writing a word merely stand for the sounds we make in speaking it, so that it is really the same language we use in these two ways, and the words are the same.

3. The Study of Language is the study of words and of the proper use of them iu expressing what we have to say.

4. In our language, — the English, spoken first only in England, but now used in many other parts of the world, — there are thousands and thousands of words, each with a different meaning. It is by our study of language that we are to become familiar with the pronunciation, the spelling, and the meaning of these words, and to acquire readiness in using them to express our thoughts.

1 To the Teacher. See Our Language, pp. 1-6.

2 LANGUAGE AND GRAMMAR.

(a) By this study, too, we shall learn to choose right forms of appropriate words and to put them together properly in our sentences. This knowledge will enable us to correct the wrong habits of speaking and writing into which ignorance or carelessness or the imitation of bad examples may have led us.

5. The surest way to become skilful in the use of language is by constant practice in correct speaking and writing. We should read books that are written in the best English, and Ave should study and imitate the best writers and speakers in our choice of words and in our way of putting them together, so that we may use our language easily, as a good workman uses his tools, and so that we may be able to correct our own errors.

6. Besides doing all this, it will be well to understand a little more about words, and to learn some of the rides for using them. For, although we do not think about rules when we are speaking, they will make it easier for us to study examples of good English, and to form correct habits ourselves. It is pleasant, too, to feel that we know about our language, and that we can reason about our forms of expression.

While studying language, then, we ought also to learn how some of our words have been made from others ; how they are all divided into classes ; how their forms are changed ; and how they are put together in sentences. This includes what is called English grammar.

7. Grammar shows how words are made, how their forms are changed, and how they arc put together in sentences according to their kinds.

Chapter II. Capitals, Punctuation, Etc

8. When speaking-, we ought to vary our tones and the length of our pauses, so as to make our sentences as expressive as possible. So in writing-, we should always make our meaning as clear as we can, by using capital letters in the proper places, and by dividing our sentences with marks of punctuation.

I. RULES FOR THE USE OF CAPITALS, ETC.

9. A Capital Letter should be used to begin —

1. Every sentence.

2. Every line of poetry.

3. Every direct quotation. [See p. 7.]

4. All individual or special names of persons, places, months, and days ; as, —

William Shakespeare, Spain, September, Saturday.

(<x) All words made from them ; as, —

Shakespearean; Spanish.

(5) And all abbreviations of them ; as, —

TVm., Sept.

5. All names applied to God.

CAPITALS, PUNCTUATION, ETC.

6. The principal words in titles. Thus : —

The President of the United States.

" The Land of the Midnight Sun."

7. The words I and O.

10. Italics [Italic letters'] are used in printing, for-

(#) A word that is very emphatic.

(£) Short titles of books : names of ships ; etc.

In uniting, we should underline such words or titles.

II. EULES FOB PUNCTUATION. 11. The Period [.] must be used after —

I. Every complete sentence that is not a question nor

an exclamation.

II. All abbreviations or initial letters.

III. A heading, title, or signature, when used alone.

12. The Question-mark [?] must be used after — IY. Eveiy complete question.

13. The Exelamatioii-poiiit [!] must be used after —

V. Every expression that is very exclamatory.

14. The Comma [,] must be used to separate from the rest of the sentence —

VI. The name of the person spoken to. Thus : —

John, come forward.

VII. A direct quotation, or each of the parts of one if it is divided. [See p. 8.]

The Comma must also be used to separate —

RULES FOE PUNCTUATION, 5

VIII. Words and expressions of the same kind when there are not words between to connect them all. Thns : —

The flags were red, white, and blue.

IX. The parts of a sentence that is made up of two or more sentences. Thus : —

We have come, and you must go.

15. The Apostrophe ['] must be used to denote —

X. Possession. [See §§ 233, 293.]

XI. The omission of letters in contracted words.

16. Quotation-marks [" "] must be used to enclose —

XII. Every direct quotation, or each of the parts into which it is divided. [See Rule VII. and §§ 20-24.]

XIII. The title of a book or periodical, if the title is long.

17. The Hyphen [-] must be used to separate —

XIV. The parts of some compound words.

XV. The syllables of a word written on different lines.

EXERCISE I.

Tell why each punctuation-mark is used in these sentences : —

[The numbers at the end refer to the rules on pages 4 and 5.]

1. How many days are there in a leap year ? (iv)

2. Can Honor's voice provoke the silent dust? (iv; x)

3. Boys, have you ever read " Tom Brown at Rugby " ? (vi ; xiii)

4. Now abideth faith, hope, charity, (viii)

5. The houses were low, narrow, and dingy, (viii)

6. Julius Caesar wrote, " I came, I saw, I conquered." (vii ; xii)

7. "Experience keeps a dear school, but fools will learn in no other." (ix; xii)

8. Which sounds better, "No, sir, I can't"; or, "Yes, ma'am, I'll try"? (vii; vi; xi; xii)

9. "Little Lord Fauntleroy" was originally published in St. Nicholas, (xiii; ii; §10 (&))

CAPITALS, PUNCTUATION, ETC.

Write the following as six Hues of poetry. Indent every other line, beginning with the second. There should be nine capitals.

" I would not hurt a living thing, however weak or small ; the beasts that graze, the birds that sing, our father made them all; without his notice, I have read, a sparrow cannot fall."

Write answers to the following, making complete sentences, and applying the rules for punctuation : —

1. What three manufacturing cities are on the Merrimac? (viii)

2. What fruits grow within the tropics ? (viii)

3. What is the title of the last book that you read ? (xiii)

4. Into what do the St. Lawrence and Mississippi rivers now ? (ix)

5. Whose dictionary do you use ? (x)

6. Write the following with three contractions : Do you not think he will say it is too much ? (xi)

7. Name the natural divisions of time, (viii)

8. What materials are used in building houses? (viii)

9. Ask your teacher a question, using her name and title 1 , (vi ; iv) 10. Give the exact date and time of writing this exercise, and add

your signature, (ii; iii)

1. Answer these questions orally in complete sentences.

2. Answer them in writing, applying the rules for capitals and punctuation.

1 . What is your full name ?

2. In what town, county, and state

were you born ?

3. What is your birthday?

4. What is your favorite book? enjoy

5. What newspaper or magazine, 0. Why are they celebrated ?

do you read? . 10. Who is governor of the state ?

6. To what foreign lands would you especially like to go ?

7. What rivers have you seen?

S. What holidays do vou most

QUOTATIONS. 7

III. SENTENCES AND PARAGRAPHS.

18. The letters that make a word are written close together, but we leave a little space between the words that make a sentence.

Between two sentences we should leave twice as much space as between two words.

19. A Paragraph is a group of sentences more closely connected in meaning with one another than with what precedes or follows. A single sentence may make a paragraph. It should begin on a separate line, and a little farther from the margin than the other lines begin.

1. Answer the following questions in sentences, arranging your replies in two paragraphs. Where will the second paragraph begin ?

What is a farmer? What does he do in the spring? In the summer ? In the autumn ? What tools does he use ? What does he raise ? What kinds of animals does he keep ? Would you like to be a farmer ? Give your reason.

What is a blacksmith? What is the place in which he works called? Tell the use of his bellows. His anvil. What other tools does he use ? Why is his business a useful one ?

2. Write two paragraphs comparing the life of a soldier with that of a sailor.

IV. QUOTATIONS.

20. When we introduce the exact language of another person into what we are writing, we make what is called a Direct Quotation. Thus : —

Prince Edward and his division were so hard pressed that a message was sent to the King asking for aid. "Is my son killed?" said

8 CAPITALS, FLUCTUATION, ETC.

the King. '* No, sire." "Is be wounded or thrown to the ground?" " No, sire," said the messenger ; " but he is very hard pressed." " Then," said the King, " I shall send no aid ; because I am resolved that the honor of a great victory shall be his."

21. In writing a direct quotation, we must remember three things : —

(1) To begin it with a capital.

(2) To enclose it in quotation-marks.

(3) To separate it from the rest of the sentence by a comma, unless it is a question or an exclamation.

If the quotation consists of several sentences, it may be preceded by a colon [ : ].

22. When we introduce anything into our writing as a thought or an opinion of another without using his exact language, Ave make an Indirect Quotation. Thus : —

Direct. The King said, "I have lost the hearts of my people. 1 ' Indirect. The King said that he had lost the hearts of his people.

Indirect Quotations frequently begin with the word "that," and they require no quotation-marks.

Change the direct quotations on page 10 into indirect.

23. A Divided Quotation is one which is given in two parts, with some of the writer's own wo.rds between.

Each part should be enclosed in quotation-marks, and generally separated from the rest by commas. Thus : —

"I propose to fight it out on this line," wrote General Grant, "if it takes all summer."

24. In writing a conversation between two persons,

MARKS USED IN CORRECTING. tf

what each one says should generally occupy a separate paragraph. Thus : —

" Colonel Miller," asked General Brown, " can you silence that battery ? "

" I'll try, sir," replied the gallant colonel.

Write a short conversation —

(1) Between two children about their favorite amusement.

(2) Between a merchant and one of his customers.

(3) Between a boy and a sailor.

MARKS USED IN CORRECTING WRITTEN WORK.

25. [The use of the following marks to indicate errors in written work may be illustrated on the blackboard. All but the caret should be repeated in the margin so as to attract attention. Where there is more than one mark, a line (/) may be used to separate them.]

c under either a small letter or a capital. The other form

should be used.

X a cross between two words. Begin a new sentence. / this line drawn through a letter or mark means that it

is wrong. 8 the de-le in the margin. Omit what is marked. A the ca-ret. Something is wanting, — a letter, a word, or

a mark, which may be written in the margin. O a circle around a mark in the margin. Use this mark. [ ] brackets enclosing words. These words should be omitted in copying. ^1 or No If these signs mean begin or do not begin a new paragraph. s under a word. The spelling is wrong. ww these letters under a word. A wrong word has been used. gr these letters in the margin. An error in grammar. ? ? these marks in the margin. Inquire about this.

Chapter III. Copying And Dictation.*

Copy one or niore of the following selections or write from the dictation of your teacher, using- capitals and punctuation marks correctly.

1. Capt. Nathan Hale was hanged as a spy during the Revolution. His last words were, " I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country."

2. Dr. Doddridge one day asked his little girl how it was that everybody loved her. " I do not know," she said, " unless it is that I love everybody."

3. " At Frankfort," said little Simson, " I once saw a watch that did not believe in the existence of a watch-maker. It had a very poor movement, by the way, and a pinchbeck case." H. Heine.

4. So nigh is grandeur to our dust,

So near is God to man, "When duty whispers low, " Thou must,"

The youth replies, " I can." Emerson.

5. " Some people," says Alphonse Karr, " are always finding fault with Nature for putting thorns on roses. I always thank her for putting roses on thorns."

6. Queen Elizabeth, daughter of King Henry VI 11. , was born in 1533. She was five-and-twenty years of age when, Nov. 17, 1588, she rode through the streets of London, from the Tower to Westminster Abbey, to be crowned. She died at Richmond, March 24, 1603.

7. " How dismal you look ! " said a Bucket to his companion, as they w r ere going to the well.

1 To the Teacher. See Our Language, pp. 7, 20.

EXEBCTSES FOR DICTATION. 11

" Ah ! " replied the other, " I was reflecting on the uselessness of our being filled, for, let us go away never so full, we always come back empty."

" Dear me ! how strange to look at it in that way ! " said the Bucket. " Now, I enjoy the thought, that, however empty w T e come, we always go away full."

8. " Over and over again, No matter which way I turn,

I always find in the book of life

Some lesson I have to learn.

I must take my turn at the mill ;

I must grind out the golden grain ; I must work at my task with a resolute will, Over and over again."

9. William H. Prescott, John L. Motley, and George Bancroft are distinguished American historians. Prescott wrote " The Conquest of Mexico." Motley wrote " The Rise of the Dutch Republic." Bancroft wrote the " History of the United States."

10. " Know old Cambridge? Hope you do.

Born there ? Don't say so ! I was too : Born in a house with a gambrel roof, — Standing still, if you must have proof."

" Yes, in the old gambrel-roofed house looking out on the College Green, lived Rev. Dr. Abiel Holmes, — pastor of the First Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts, but of wider fame as the author of the American Annals, — and there was born to him the son, Oliver Wendell, who was to shed new lustre on the family name as the brightest of American poets and essayists. His birth-date is August 29, 1809."

11. " Henry Wads worth Longfellow, the most popular of American poets, was born in Portland, Maine, Feb. 27, 1807. His father was a well-known jurist, and, like Bryant, he was descended from John Alden, the youngest of the Mayflower's Pilgrims.

" From 1835, the time of his appointment as Professor of Modern Languages and Literature in Harvard University, till his death, March 21, 1882, Longfellow lived in the stately old Cambridge mansion occupied by Washington during the siege of Boston, 1775-76."

Chapter IV. Reproduction Of Stories. 1

Read and then reproduce from the outline the story of —

THE OYSTER AND ITS CLAIMANTS.

Two travellers discovered on the beach

An oyster, carried thither by the sea. 'Twas eyed with equal greediness by each ;

Then came the question whose was it to be.

One, stooping down to pounce upon the prize,

Was thrust away before his hand could snatch it. " Not quite so quickly," his companion cries ;

" If you've a claim here, Pre a claim to match it ; The first that saw it has the better right

To its possession; come, you can't deny it." " Well," said his friend, " my orbs are pretty bright,

And /, upon my life, was first to spy it "

"You? Not at all; or, if you did perceive it,

I smelt it long before it was in view : But here's a lawyer coining — let us leave it

To him to arbitrate between the two."

The lawyer listens with a stolid face,

Arrives at his decision in a minute ; And, as the shortest way to end the case,

Opens the shell and eats the fish within it. The rivals look upon him with dismay : —

" This Court," says he, " awards you each a shell ; You've neither of you any costs to pay,

And so be happy, Go in peace. Farewell ! '

La Fontaine.

1 To the Teacher. See Our Language, pp. 23-31.

EEPEODXTCTION OF STORIES. 18

OUTLINE.

1. The discovery. 4. The lawyer and his fee.

2. The rival claims. 5. The verdict rendered.

3. The dispute. 6. The lesson taught.

EXERCISE 10.

Reproduce from the outline, after hearing or reading the story of The African Chief. W. C. Bryant.

OUTLINE.

Introduction. Description of Captive. Appearance. History.

r Request for freedom. Offers ornaments.

Details The refusal and intention of captors. of -l Disclosure of gold concealed in hair. Story. Request renewed, and reasons given.

_ Again denied, but gold taken.

Conclusion. Effect on the Chieftain.

EXERCISE II.

After hearing it read, write from the outline the story of

The White-footed Deer. W. C. Bryant.

1. The time and place. 2. Appearance of deer and her habits.

3. The protection of the cottage dame. 4. Tradition of the Indians. 5. The hunter's success. 6. His fatal shot. 7. The red-men's revenge. 8. Desolation.

After reading it, write from this outline the story of

Paul Revere's Ride. Longfellow.

1. The time. 2. The signal light. 3. The object of the ride.

4. The listening friends discover the movements of the British.

5. The impatient watching of Revere. 6. The signal at last! He mounts and is off ! 7. The ride to Medford. 8. Lexington village : its appearance. 9. The ride ended. 10. The result.

14 REPRODUCTION OF STORIES.

Study the poem carefully, and then write the story from the outline. Make several direct quotations.

Nauhatjght, the Deacon. Whittier.

I. Nauhaught and his circumstances. 2. His dream. 3. He visits his traps. 4. His success. 5. Thoughts of home and of his needs. 6. His prayer. 7. He finds the purse. 8. The conflict with temptation. 9. Reasons for keeping the money; for not keeping it. 10. The noble resolve. 11. He visits the inn and finds the owner. 12. The reward. 13. His feelings as he goes home. 14. The angel.

EXERCISE 14.

Prepare an outline and reproduce the story from it.

1. Bruce and the Spider. B. Barton. 1

2. Small Beginnings. C. Mackay. 1

3. The Milkmaid.' J. Taylor. 1

4. The Mountain and the Squirrel. R. W. Emerson.

5. The Nantucket Skipper. J. T. Fields.

6. God's Judgment on the Wicked ) D 4l

Bishop. ) J

7. Incident of the French Camp. R. Browning.

8. Arnold Winkelried. Montgomery.

10. The Little Match Girl. Ham Christian Andersen.

12. Horatius at the Bridge. Macatday.

13. Skipper Ireson's Ride. J. G. Whittier.

14. The Story of Ruth. Bible.

15. The Legend of Bregenz. A. A. Proctor.

Try to invent and write an original story ; give it a name, and sign yourself as the author.

1 Bryant's Library of Poetry and Song.