XLVIII THE DIRECT OBJECT We left him alone with his glory.-WOLFE. When God gave reason, he gave freedom to choose. Is left a transitive or an intransitive verb? What is its object? In what case is it? What kind of verb is gave? What is its object in each instance? In what case is the object of a verb? Him, reason, and freedom are called the direct objects of the verbs left and gave. XLIX THE INDIRECT OBJECT The boys gave the schoolhouse a coat of paint. What did the boys give? Was it the schoolhouse? If so, to whom did they give it? Did they give a coat of paint? To what or whom did they give it? Rewrite the sentence putting the preposition to before schoolhouse. What is the object of gave? Schoolhouse is called the indirect object. It is the word that shows for whom or what the direct object, a coat of paint, is intended. Make a definition of an indirect object. Henry bought his dog a collar. Rewrite the sentence, supplying for. Do you write it before dog or collar? What is the direct and what the indirect object of bought? The indirect object can usually be told by placing to or for before it. In the following sentences tell which are the direct and which the indirect objects of the verbs : Give me liberty or give me death.- HENRY. He giveth his beloved sleep.-BIBLE. LONGFELLOW. Give each his right, give each his room, And never try to crowd. DICKENS. Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears. Write a sentence containing each of the following verbs with an indirect object: — give, show, tell, spare, save, bring, carry. Name the direct and indirect objects in the follow WHAT ONE CLASS DID FOR CHRISTMAS They gave five families their Christmas dinners. They gave twenty poor children toys that they themselves had owned. The boys in the manual training shops made little lame George a new wagon that his dog could draw. Each girl made her mother an apron. Each boy and girl sent some "shut-in" mas letter. a cheery Christ They wrote their parents invitations to their Christmas tree party. They made hundreds of people feel better by wishing them, every one, "A Merry Christmas." If you are not sure which is the indirect object in any sentence, try using to or for. L APPOSITIVE Thomas Edison, the inventor, was once a telegraph operator. The word inventor describes Edison, but is not an adjective. What part of speech is it? My brother, George, is older than I. George defines brother. It is called an appositive. What part of speech is it? A noun or pronoun placed after another noun or pronoun to explain or define the meaning is called an appositive and is said to be in apposition. Point out the appositives in the following sen tences: Catherine, Queen of England, come into court! It was the general himself who spoke. Napoleon, the conqueror, died on the island of St. Helena. I, Cyrus, the King, have said it. Longfellow, the poet, Emerson, the philosopher, and Agassiz, the scientist, were close friends. Arnold, the traitor, is said to have died in poverty in London. What mark is commonly used to set off an appositive? Long, the tyrant of our coast, Reigned the famous Guerrière : Our little navy she defied, Public ship and privateer; On her sails in letters red, Observe that the object of defied is navy. Ship and privateer are in apposition with navy. It is not always possible to tell the relations of words from their positions. Find one quotation in which the object is placed before the verb. LI NOMINATIVE INDEPENDENT "Mrs. Bardell," said Mr. Pickwick. "Sir," said Mrs. Bardell. "Do you think it a much greater expense to keep two people than one?" "La, Mr. Pickwick," said Mrs. Bardell, "what a question!" DICKENS. The words Mrs. Bardell do not form a part of a sentence, but are used independently to indicate who is spoken to. So also is the word Sir. A noun or pronoun used simply to address is said to be in the nominative independent. Find another nominative independent in the above. What part of speech is la? Write, or find and copy, five sentences containing nouns in apposition, five sentences containing predicate nominatives with copulas, and five containing nominatives independent. "I am going to take a drive; who wants to go with me?" "I do!" "I do," cried all the children at once. "O, let me go, Uncle John!" "Mayn't I go?" "Let me see," said Uncle John, looking over the group of eager applicants. "Here is room for only three. I want John to go, so that he can hold the horse when I have to leave him. Henry went yesterday, so it would be hardly fair for him to go now. We'll let Carrie ride on the back seat with little Molly, for Molly must come with us and she'll need some one to take care of her. To take such a little girl without a caretaker would not be quite safe, would it? That's all for to-day; I'll take the others next time." As there was nothing else to do, all laughed and shouted, "all right." - MOREY. Count all the infinitives in this selection. (Page 223.) What little word introduces each? To, when used with an infinitive, is called the sign of the infinitive. Sometimes the sign to is omitted however. In the sentence, "Let me go," go is an infinitive with to omitted. The full form would be, Let me to go, or Allow me to go. Name the infinitives in the above selection, that have not the sign to. |