LXX

REVIEW; CLASSES OF SENTENCES

(1)

Name the simple, complex, and compound sentences in the following:

THE BLESSINGS OF POVERTY

If there is anything in the world that a young man should be more grateful for than another, it is the poverty which necessitates starting life under very great disadvantages. Poverty is one of the best tests of human quality in existence. A triumph over it is like graduating with honor from West Point. It demonstrates stuff and stamina. is a certificate of worthy labor faithfully performed. young man who cannot stand this test is not good for anything.

It

A

If you are poor, thank God and take courage; for he intends to give you a chance to make something of yourself. If you had plenty of money, ten chances to one it would spoil you for all useful purposes. Do you lack education? Remember that education, like some other things, does not consist in the multitude of things a man possesses. What can you do? That is the question that settles the business J. G. HOLLAND.

for you.

(2)

Combining Statements into Sentences

It was a bright August morning.

We were strolling along the edge of a wood.

We found an old tree trunk.

It was lying on the ground.

These four sentences can be made into two simple sentences, thus:

On a bright August morning we were strolling along the edge of a wood.

We found an old tree trunk lying on the ground.

They can be combined into two sentences, one simple and one complex; or into one compound sentence, both parts being simple; or into a compound sentence, one part simple and one part complex. They can also be combined so as to make one simple sentence or one complex sentence. These combinations can be made

in different ways.

Arrange the four statements in as many different sentences as you can.

Discuss the sentences that you have made and decide which arrangement is best (see page 21).

LXXI

ANALYSIS OF SENTENCES

(1)

Raphael painted.

Raphael, the artist, painted madonnas.

Raphael, the great Italian artist, painted the most beautiful madonnas.

Write the subjects and the predicates of these sentences separately with vertical lines between.

In the first sentence the subject is simply Raphael. In the second it is Raphael with a modifier, the appositive, the artist. In the third the subject is Raphael, with a much longer appositive, the great Italian artist.

The predicate is, in the first sentence, the single verb painted. In each of the others it is enlarged by modifiers. Yet these are all simple sentences. Why?

Not only are the subject and the predicate modified, but the modifiers themselves are modified.

In Raphael, the artist, Raphael is modified by the appositive phrase the artist, which tells Raphael's occupation. Artist is itself modified by the article the, which tells that he was the artist, that is, a particularly distinguished artist.

In Raphael, the great Italian artist, artist is still further modified by great and Italian, which tell us Raphael's rank among artists and his nationality.

So, to make the entire thought of the subject clear, we have Raphael, modified by artist, which is itself modified by the, great, and Italian.

In like manner the predicate verb is modified.

Painted what? Madonnas. What kind of madonnas? Beautiful madonnas. How beautiful? The most beautiful.

That is, painted is modified by the object madonnas, which is itself modified by the, and most beautiful. Beautiful is modified by most.

Raphael is called the simple subject, and Raphael, the great Italian artist, the grammatical subject.

Painted is the simple predicate and painted the most beautiful madonnas, the grammatical predicate.

NOTE.

Sometimes the simple subject and predicate are called the logical subject and predicate.

The modifiers of the simple subject and predicate may be words, phrases, or clauses.

Dividing a sentence into subject and predicate and selecting and classifying all the modifiers and showing the relations of all the words, so as to make the thought perfectly clear, is called analyzing the sentence.

"More than six hundred years ago, Marco Polo, then only a young boy, set out on a long and dangerous journey, with his father and his father's brother."

Analysis:

It is a simple sentence.

(1) The grammatical subject is Marco Polo, then only a young boy. (2) The grammatical predicate is, More than six hundred years ago set out on a long and dangerous journey with his father and his father's brother.

(3) The simple subject is Marco Polo. (4) It is modified by the adjective phrase, then only a young boy. (5) Boy is in apposition to Marco Polo. It is modified by the article a and the adjective young. The adjective phrase a young boy is modified by the adverbs then and only.

(6) The simple predicate is the verb set out. (7) It is modified by the adverbial phrases, more than six hundred years ago, on a long and dangerous journey, and with his father and his father's brother.

(8) The adverbial phrase more than six hundred years ago is made up of the noun years modified by the definitive adjective (p. 208) six hundred. Six hundred is modified by the adverbial phase more than and the adverb ago.1

In the phrases with his father and his father's brother, joined by the conjunction and, father is the object of the preposition with and is modified by the personal pronoun his; brother is the object of with and is modified

1 To the Teacher. It is possible to analyze this phrase further as, more years ago than six hundred years — years being adverbial objective (see p. 308), and more an adjective modifying years, and than a conjunction connecting the two phrases. But such fine analysis should not be attempted at this stage. Indeed, for a grammar school class, the analysis given above is sufficient.

by the possessive father's. Father's is modified by the personal pronoun his.

(2)

In analyzing a sentence, use the following order: (1) the grammatical subject; (2) the grammatical predicate; (3) the simple subject, (4) its modifiers, (5) their relations and modifiers; (6) the simple predicate, (7) its modifiers, (8) their parts.

LXXII

ANALYSIS OF SIMPLE SENTENCES

Analyze the following simple sentences 1, 2, and 3: 1. All habits gather by unseen degrees. 2. The winds of March are blowing. 3. Spring is smiling in the air.

4. Learn the luxury of doing good.

Sentence 4 is an imperative sentence. What subject is to be understood? What is the relation of luxury to learn?

Luxury is modified by the article, the, and by the phrase, of doing good. Since this phrase modifies a noun, what kind of phrase is it? Doing is a present participle. It expresses the thought of both a noun and a verb, and is called a verbal noun. It is the object of the preposition of. Good is here a noun and is the object of doing.

To the Teacher.- For those who prefer to use a diagram, forms for the simple sentence are given on page 344, Appendix. This caution, however, is needed. Analyzing a sentence is really analyzing its thought. This should be kept foremost. The justification of sentence analysis is that it makes the thought plainer. There is danger that the diagram will distract the attention from the real end of analysis. Teachers who use it need to be especially careful to see that the diagram is always a picture of the thought, merely a rearrangement of the words to show the thought more clearly.