OUTLINE AND SUMMARY OF ENGLISH GRAMMAR THE SENTENCE AND ITS ELEMENTS A sentence has two necessary parts: I. The subject tells about whom or about what something is said (p. 327). The complete subject may include A. The subject substantive - the principal word (usually noun or pronoun p. 49) and B. Modifiers adjectives, adjective phrases and clauses, appositives, etc. (pp. 40, 81, 114, 342). The subject may also be 1. Simple having one subject substantive (p. 10), or 2. Compound having more than one subject substantive (p. 10). The subject is sometimes unexpressed, especially in direct commands, where it is you, understood (p. 327). ELEMENTS OF PREDICATE II. The predicate tells what is said about the subject (p. 327). The complete predicate may include A. The predicate verb either one word (p. 57) or a group of words making a verb phrase (p. 58). B. Modifiers adverbs, adverbial phrases and clauses, etc. (pp. 78, 81, 116). C. The following kinds of objects or completing constructions: 1. A direct object (p. 69). 2. An indirect object (p. 74). 3. A predicate noun or pronoun or adjective (pp. 60, 61). 4. A secondary object (see next page). 5. A retained object (see next page). 6. An adjunct accusative (see page 335). The following constructions have not been treated in the body of the text: The Secondary Object. George asked Charles a question. The verb asked takes two objects, one that denotes a person, another that denotes a thing. Charles, the name of the person asked, is the direct object; question, the thing asked, is called the secondary object. The use of a word as secondary object is an accusative case-use. Point out the direct objects and the secondary objects in the following sentences: 1. The people of Paris asked Genevieve what they should do. 2. Henry asked the boys their reasons. 3. I will ask my father his opinion. Write two sentences each containing a secondary object. Underline the direct objects once, the secondary objects twice. The Retained Object. 1. Charles granted George his desire. 2. George was granted his desire by Charles. 3. Charles asked George a question. 4. George was asked a question by Charles. What is the direct object of the verb granted in the first sentence? What is the indirect object? What is the voice of the verb in the second sentence? The noun desire, which is the direct object of the verb in the active voice, is retained when the verb is used in the passive voice. What is the direct object in the third sentence? What is the secondary object? What is the voice of the verb in the fourth sentence? The noun question, which is the secondary object of the verb in the active voice, is retained when the verb is made passive. The use of a word as a retained object is an accusative case-use. Find all the retained objects in the following sentences: 1. Genevieve was given much honor by the people. 2. When she was asked what they should do, she told them. 3. My father was asked his opinion. 4. I was immediately told his reasons. Write three sentences containing indirect or secondary objects; then turn them into the passive voice with retained objects. The Adjunct Accusative. 1. Genevieve's example made the men brave. 2. The people called Genevieve the Defender of Paris. What is the direct object of the verb made in the first sentence above? You know that Genevieve's example did not make the men. It made them become something they were not before; it made them become brave. The adjective brave completes the meaning of the predicate and describes the direct object, men. What word is the direct object of the verb called in the second sentence? The noun Defender completes the meaning of the predicate and explains the direct object Genevieve. A word that is used to complete the meaning of the predicate and to describe the direct object is called an adjunct accusative. The adjunct accusative is used with make, call, choose, name, think, and some other verbs of similar meaning. Either nouns or adjectives may be used as adjunct accusatives. Select the adjunct accusatives in the following sentences. Tell which of them are adjectives and which are nouns. 1. News of Attila's invasion made the men cowards. 2. They thought him invincible. 3. The Huns called him chief. 4. The Gauls chose Genevieve their leader. 5. They considered her wise. 6. The boys elected Henry captain of the football team. 8. Make my home yours. Write five sentences containing adjunct accusatives. The Adverbial Accusative. 1. The ship sailed the next day. 4. You must walk a mile farther. What does the next day tell you in sentence one? Note that the preposition on can be inserted without change of meaning. What kind of phrase is on the next day? The noun day, then, is used without a preposition in sentence one, to tell when the ship sailed. Worth in sentence two is an adjective. Select the noun that modifies the adjective and tells how much. Long in sentence three is an adjective. Select the noun that modifies this adjective and tells how long. Farther in sentence four is an adverb. Select the noun that modifies this adverb and tells how far. When a noun is used without a preposition to tell when, where, how much, how long, how far, etc., it performs the work of an adverb and is said to be used adverbially. This construction is called the adverbial accusative. Find all the adverbial accusatives in the following sentences: 1. Genevieve lived in Gaul many hundred years ago. 2. One day the people heard that the Huns were coming. 3. The Gauls fled a short distance. 4. They hesitated a long time before returning. 5. The next day they prepared to fight. 6. All her life Genevieve was an inspiration to the people. 7. "Play this way," said the captain. 8. Come here this instant. Write five sentences each of which contains an adverbial accusative. The predicate (like the subject) may be 1. Simple — containing but one predicate verb (p. 10). (p. 10). Some of the constructions in the predicate such as the direct object, the predicate noun, etc. may also be simple or compound. Examples: John outran George and Harry (compound object). Washington was both a soldier and a statesman (predicate nouns). ORDER IN THE SENTENCE A sentence is said to be in I. Natural order, when the subject precedes the predicate (p. 6). II. Transposed order, when at least part of the subject follows the predicate (p. 6). Interrogative and exclamatory sentences are usually in transposed order. PHRASES AND CLAUSES The following groups of words may be taken together in the sentence: A. The phrase does not contain a subject or a predicate (p. 81). 1. An adjective phrase modifies a noun or a pronoun (p. 81). 2. An adverbial phrase modifies a verb, adjective, or adverb (p. 81). 3. A substantive phrase takes the place of a noun (p. 187). 4. A prepositional phrase is introduced by a preposition (p. 85). 5. A verb phrase is a group of words making a verb (p. 58). 6. A participial phrase consists of a participle with its modifiers, object or objects, and other accompanying words (pp. 281, 282). 7. A gerundive phrase consists of a gerund with its accompanying words (pp. 298, 299). 8. An infinitive phrase consists of an infinitive with its accompanying words (p. 300), unless there is a subject and therefore an infinitive clause (p. 355). Phrases are usually placed near the words they modify (p. 83). I. A principal, or independent, clause can be taken as a 1. Adjective, when they modify nouns or pronouns 2. Adverbial, when they modify verbs, adjectives, or adverbs (p. 116). 3. Substantive, when they take the place of nouns (p. 187). A relative clause is a clause introduced by a relative propoun (p. 142). An infinitive clause is a clause of which the principal elements are an infinitive and its subject (p. 355). |