RUDIMENTS OF ENGLISH GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION PART I. THE SIMPLE SENTENCE. CHAPTER I. The Three Forms of the Simple Statement. 1. Look round the room, and, as your eye falls on some person or thing, make a note of that which you see; thus— The words on the right of the line are names of persons and things; and we call them Nouns. 2. Next, try to describe some of the persons and things around you by a single word, expressing some dis39 A tinguishing mark (as of size, colour, state) that you The words on the right of the line denote distinguishing marks of the persons and things described; and we call such words Adjectives. 3. When we put words together to express our thoughts we form a Sentence; thus when we say Snow is white, Worms creep, we express our thoughts in sentences. 4. With Nouns and Adjectives alone no sentence can be formed; a word of another kind must be used, and this is called a Verb. Thus in the sentences just given the words is, creep, and build are Verbs. 5. The Subject of a sentence is, in simple statements, such as those which we are now considering, the name of that about which we assert something; that is, the words snow, worms, and birds are the subjects about which we are making assertions. 6. In the statement Snow is white, the Verb is expresses no distinct thought, but we use it as a mere symbol to connect with the Subject Snow the word white, which expresses that which is asserted of the Subject. In a sentence of this kind the Adjective white is called the Predicate, from a Latin word meaning declared or asserted, and the Verb is, connecting the Subject and the Predicate, is called the Copula or Link. So, again, in the statement Hares are timid, the Verb are forms the Copula connecting the Subject hares with the Predicate timid. 7. In the sentences Birds build nests, Worms creep, the Verbs build and creep are much more than mere symbols to mark that an assertion is made, for they express distinct thoughts. They are words expressing action. 8. Next observe that in the sentence Birds build nests the effect of the action is stated by the use of the word nests, which is called the Object of the Verb; whereas in the sentence Worms creep the action is confined to the Subject, and is not extended to an Object. 9. The Verbs build and creep are examples of two great classes of Verbs, Transitive and Intransitive. Transitive is from a Latin word meaning passing on ; and hence the name is given to Verbs expressing an action that passes on from a Subject to an Object. Intransitive means not passing on; and hence this name is given to Verbs expressing an action confined to the Subject and not extending to an Object. 10. Verbs expressing a condition or state of a Subject are Intransitive, as in the sentences The boy sleeps. The sun shines. 11. Many Verbs can be used both in a Transitive and in an Intransitive sense; for example The wind bends the tree. The tree bends. The ship parts the waves. 12. Now observe First, that the chief design of this book is to explain Thirdly, that there are Three Forms of the Simple Finally, that in describing the parts of a Simple Statement we have to use six terms, viz. :— SUBJECT. The name of that about which an assertion is made (Forms I., II., III.). |