ANALYSIS OF SENTENCES.

1. Analysis of sentences is the separating of them into the parts of which they consist, and of showing the relation of these parts to each other.

2. A sentence is a number of words conveying a complete thought; as, Man works.

3. There are three kinds of sentences, simple, complex, and compound.*

4. A simple sentence has only one subject and one finite verb; as, Ambition requires caution.

46. A complex sentence has two or more finite verbs, with only one principal subject and predicate; as, Moses was the greatest law-giver that ever lived.

5. A compound sentence is made up of two or more simple sentences; as, Ambition requires caution, but does not always get it.

Sentences are either principal or subordinate.

6. A principal sentence is independent of any other; as, Henry learns grammar.

7. A subordinate sentence is dependent upon the principal

* Strictly speaking, perhaps, there are only two kinds of sentences, simple and compound. For every sentence contains one or more assertions. If it contains only one, it is a simple sentence; if it contains more than one, it is a compound sentence. It is obvious, therefore, that there can be no intermediate sentence between simple and compound.

sentence; as, Henry learns grammar (P.) that he may be able to speak correctly (S.).

8. The principal parts of a sentence are the subject, the predicate, and the object.

9. The subject is that of which anything is affirmed.

10. The predicate is that which is affirmed of the subject. 11. The object is that which is affected by the predicate:

12. Thus in the sentence," Brutus loved the Commonwealth," Brutus is the subject, loved is the predicate, and Commonwealth is the object.

13. The words which are added to these principal parts are termed adjuncts. Take, for example, the preceding sentence enlarged, "The noble Brutus dearly loved the Roman Commonwealth."

14. It will be seen from this example that each principal part may take an adjunct. The subject, Brutus, takes an adjunct noble; the predicate, loved, takes the adjunct dearly; and the object, Commonwealth, takes the adjunct Roman.

These parts of a sentence will be still better understood by the following arrangement :

Subject

Predicate

The noble Brutus dearly loved

Object

the Roman Commonwealth.

15. The principal parts of a sentence may have several adjuncts.

16. When two or more words come together without affirming anything, they are said to form a phrase; as, without doubt, of course, of a truth.

The following are the principal rules of construction :

I.-A verb must agree with its subject in number and person; as, I love, thou lovest, he loves.

Observations.-(1) The subject is always the nominative case.

The subject is generally a noun or pronoun.

(2) When an adjective is used as a noun, it may be the subject of a verb; as, The brave are admired.

(3) The present participle or the infinitive mood may be used as the subject; as, Talking is easy; to talk is easy.

(4) Part of a sentence is sometimes used as the subject; as, That drunkenness is a great evil, admits not of a doubt.

II.-Pronouns must be of the same number, gender, and person, with the nouns for which they stand; as, Martha is good, but she is not clever.

III.-The verb to be, and some other neuter verbs, generally

take the same case after as before them; as, I am he. The answer to a question generally takes the tion; as, Who said so? She (said so). Him (I admire).

same case as the quesWhom do you admire ?

IV. The objective case is governed by active verbs and prepositions; as, We love him. In me ye have life.

V. The past participle should be used after the verbs have and be; as Washington was chosen commander-in-chief. The ice had broken.

VI.-Collective nouns, conveying unity of idea, require verbs and pronouns in the singular; as, The party was large, and its influence great.

Collective nouns, conveying plurality of idea, require verbs and pronouns in the plural; as, The people are sometimes mistaken in their views.

OF SUB-ORDINATE SENTENCES.

I. THE NOUN SENTENCE.

The Noun Sentence occupies the place of a noun, and therefore may be, first, the subject of a sentence; as, That we should study is necessary. Second, the object of a sentence; as, He gets whatever he needs. And third, the Noun Sentence may be the predicate with the verb to be; as, My opinion is that it will rain.

II. THE ADJECTIVE SENTENCE.

The Adjective Sentence occupies the place of an adjective, and may therefore qualify the subject; as, The soldiers who returned were worn out. The Adjective Sentence may qualify the object; as, I visited the place where I was born. It may also qualify the noun in a phrase; as, I was thus rewarded for the dangers I had passed.

Note.-The relative in the objective is often omitted when it introduces an Adjective Sentence, as in the above, "for the dangers which I had passed."

III. THE ADVERBIAL SENTENCE.

The Adverbial Sentence occupies the place of an adverb, so that it is mostly used to modify the predicate; as, The Saxons came when they were sent for.

Adverbial Sentences, like adverbs, relate-(1) to time; as, The thunder rolled when the lightning had flashed. (2) Place; as, The farmer cannot reap where he does not sow. (3) Man

ner; as, He speaks as he thinks. (4) Cause; as, He sings because he is happy.*

OF CO-ORDINATE SENTENCES.

There are three kinds of Co-Ordinate Sentences-Connective, Adversative, and Illative.

1. Connective sentences are joined together in meaning and construction; as, He reads and writes well. The connective conjunctions couple these sentences together.

2. Adversative sentences are opposed or contrasted in meaning; as, He reads well but writes badly. The disjunctive conjunctions are the connecting links between these sentences.

3. Illative sentences are those of which one sentence is a conclusion drawn from another; as, He was known to be honest, therefore he was trusted. The words, therefore, wherefore, accordingly, consequently, etc., are the connective particles of these sentences.

OF CLAUSES.

There are what are called clauses, which are usually pointed off from the rest of the sentence by stops. There are two kinds of clauses, finite and indefinite. The finite clause contains a finite verb; thus, As Pompey had fled, his soldiers surrendered to Cæsar.

The indefinite clause does not contain a finite verb; as, Pompey having fled, his soldiers surrendered to Cæsar.

There are three ways of distinguishing clauses:

First way by the name of the part of speech which introduces or characterizes the clause.

Second way by the purpose of the conjunction which introduces the clause.

Third way by the nature of the grammatical construction of the clause.

The first way comprises the following:

Adjective clause.-Impatient of delay, he crossed the river. Relative clause.-He advanced to meet the enemy, who had taken up a strong position.

Infinitive clause.-To confess the truth, I did it.

Although the connecting links in these examples, when, where, as, and because, may be conjunctions here, yet they express the adverbial relations of time, place, manner, and cause, between the sentences; and, therefore, "when the lightning had flashed;" "where he does not sow," &c., are called adverbial sentences.