1. The Clause. Read the following sentence: Birds sing and bees hum. What is the first statement in this sentence? What is the second statement? Read the first statement again. What is the subject of this part of the sentence? What is the predicate? Read the second statement again. What is the subject of this part of the sentence? What is the predicate? Learn: A part of a sentence containing a subject and a predicate is called a clause. 2. The Compound Sentence. Read the following sentence: Birds sing and bees hum. Each of the statements or clauses in the above sentence could stand alone as a complete sentence. A clause of this kind is called an independent clause. Select the independent clauses in these sentences: 1. There were many brave men in Britain, but few had learned to show mercy. 2. The kings were constantly at war with one another, and the fierce nobles refused to obey any laws. 3. Arthur united the kingdom, and the bravest of the nobles promised him their support. 4. Some rebelled, but they were defeated in a great battle. 5. The rich were cruel to the poor, and the strong oppressed the weak. 6. The knights promised to serve others, and then they rode through the land redressing wrong. 7. Many knights were brave and good, but Galahad was the purest of all. 8. Arthur loved all his knights, but Lancelot was his dearest friend. Select the subject and the predicate of each clause in the sentences given above. Learn: A sentence that contains two or more independent clauses is called a compound sentence. 3. Written Exercise. Write five compound sentences. LESSON 10 STORY TELLING Time yourself as you read silently the following story. Tell the story; then read it again silently, timing yourself as before. Retell the story, trying to tell it more accurately than you did the first time. Be careful to make your sentences separate and distinct. Avoid the habit of "stringing sentences together" with the word and. A GIRL'S BRAVE DEED When James I became King of Scotland, he determined that the laws of the country should be enforced upon rich and poor alike. This angered the lawless nobles who for many years had robbed and murdered without fear of punishment. They knew the King was a brave and resolute man whom they could not frighten, and so they resolved upon his death. King James was told of threats which had been made against him, but he continued to do what he thought was right and to punish evildoers. One night as the King and Queen were talking happily together, the light from many torches flashed in the windows and the tramp of feet was heard in the hall. The Queen's attendants flew to the doors to lock them, but found to their horror that the bolts had been removed. Hoping to gain a few minutes in which the King might escape, one of the Queen's maids thrust her arm across the door in place of the great bar. A girl's weak arm could not long hold a door against a crowd of armed men. The heroic deed of Catharine Douglas could not save her King, but the memory of it has helped many girls and boys to forget themselves for the sake of others. Selected. LESSON 11 — CLASS COMPOSITION Be prepared to take part with other members of the class in telling the story, "A Girl's Brave Deed." Dictate the sentences one by one to your teacher, so that she may write them on the board. The following suggestions will help you: Of what should we tell in the first paragraph? Give a good opening sentence. Where should the first sentence of the paragraph begin? What capital letters are needed in this sentence? What punctuation mark should be placed at the end? Give a sentence that seems to belong immediately after the one written. Where should this sentence begin? What capital letters are required? What punctuation mark should be placed at the end? Is another sentence needed in this paragraph? If so, give it. Does this sentence follow naturally after the one given before? Is there something that should be told before you use this sentence? Where should the third sentence begin? What capital letters are needed? What punctuation mark should be placed at the end of it? Read the three sentences. Is the first paragraph complete? If it is not, add what is necessary, following the plan suggested for the preceding sentences. Read the first paragraph. Suggest a topic for the second paragraph. Does this topic follow that of the first paragraph in natural order; that is, does it seem to belong immediately after it? Suggest a good sentence for beginning the second paragraph. Where should this sentence begin? What capital letters are needed in the sentence? What punctuation mark is needed at the end? Suggest a sentence that seems to you to belong immediately after the one just written. Where should this sentence begin? What capital letters are needed? What punctuation mark should be placed at the end? Is another sentence needed in this paragraph? If so, give it. Where should it begin? What capital letters are needed? What punctuation mark should be placed at the end of the sentence? Read the second paragraph. Is it complete or should something be added? If more sentences are needed, add them, following the plan suggested above. Continue to form paragraphs in this way until the story is finished. LESSON 12 THE COMPLEX SENTENCE: PRINCIPAL AND SUBORDINATE CLAUSES 1. James I became King of Scotland. 2. He determined to protect the poor and the weak. In the above examples two different classes of sentences are shown, simple and compound. Simple sentences are usually short, and if we use too many of them our speech or writing will seem childish and uninteresting. On the other hand, compound sentences are likely to be long and monotonous. Besides, they do not always show our exact meaning. Therefore, we use still another form of sentence. 4. When James I became King of Scotland, he determined to protect the poor and the weak. Read sentence 4 as far as the comma. What is the subject of this part? The predicate? What do we call a part of a sentence that contains a subject and a predicate? Can this part of the sentence be used alone? Read the next clause in the sentence. Can this clause be used alone? In the compound sentence, example 3, the clauses are so stated as to seem equally important, and either can be used alone as a sentence. In sentence 4, however, the second clause is clearly more important than the first, for the first merely tells when the action of the second clause took place. Only the second clause can be used alone. It is called, therefore, the principal, or independent, clause, while the first is called a subordinate, or dependent, clause. Read the principal clause in sentence 4. Read the subordinate clause. What word shows the dependence of the subordinate clause upon the principal clause? |