V. SUBJECT AND PREDICATE AGAIN.

Birds fly.
Fishes swim.

Carthage fell.

1. Are the words birds fly a sentence? Yes; because they make a statement, and have a Subject and a Predicate. What is the Subject? The Predicate?

2. Are these words a sentence? Fishes swim. Name the Subject. The Predicate.

3. Carthage fell: is this a sentence? Why? Give the Subject. The Predicate.

4. In each of these sentences the Subject consists of but one word, and the Predicate of but one word; hence these are the very simplest kind of sentences, for each contains but two words. If a set of words did not contain a Subject and a Predicate, would these words be a sentence at all?

5. In a sentence that contains but two words-the Subject and the Predicate-the subject may be called the simple Subject, and the Predicate may be called the simple Predicate.

6. The Subject may consist of many words, and the Predicate may consist of many words.

7. When the simple Subject takes other words with it, we say that it is enlarged. So with the Predicate.

1. Birds fly.

ILLUSTRATION.

This is a sentence, with a simple Subject, birds, and a simple Predi vate, fly.

2. Some birds fly swiftly.

Here the subject is enlarged by the word some, and the predicate by the word swiftly.

3. Some birds of prey fly very swiftly.

Here the words of prey are added to the last subject, and very to the last predicate.

4. Some birds of prey, having secured their victim, fly with it very swiftly to their nests.

Here the subject and the predicate are enlarged by many additional words.

8. In the first form of the sentence, birds is the Subject, and fly is the Predicate. In the fourth form, the Subject is some birds of prey, having secured their victim, and the Predicate is fly with it very swiftly to their nests. The first sentence is simple; the other sentences are enlarged.

Be careful to have

In like manner, enlarge the following sentences, till you make them as long as you can. only one Subject and one Predicate:

1. Boys study.

2. A horse ran.

9. The principal word in the Subject of a sentence is a Name-word, because it represents the thing named; the principal word in the Predicate is a Statement-word, because it represents the thing stated, or said. Name-words are called NOUNS; Statement-words are called VERBS.

10. There are thousands of Nouns in our language, and also thousands of Verbs. When we take all the words in our language, we find that we can assort them into a few great classes. The way words are assorted into classes is by finding out their use in sentences-what they

do. We shall see that all English words may be grouped into eight classes, and these different sorts of words are called in grammar PARTS OF SPEECH. Now Nouns and Verbs are the two principal Parts of Speech, because with a Noun and a Verb we can make a sentence. The scholar, when he has learned about Nouns and Verbs, will have made a good beginning in grammar.

Exercise 3.
A.

Write out the following sentences, drawing a single line under the simple Subject, and a double line under the simple Predicate.

MODEL.-The elephant surpasses all other land animals in size.

1. The elephant surpasses all other land animals in size.

2. The cuckoo builds no nest for herself.

3. Vast prairies stretch beyond the Mississippi.

4. Before our house a prattling river runs.

5. A herd of cattle grazed in a meadow.

6. The timid bird saw the snake in the grass.

7. My father's fields produce corn.

8. Those pears may ripen on the wall.

9. Diogenes lived in a tub.

B.

Write a Sentence on each of the following words. Draw a single line under the principal word in the Subject (Noun), and a double line under the principal word in the Predicate (Verb).

1. Face. 2. Crocodile.

Exchange papers, and see—

1. Whether the spelling is correct.

3. Washington.

2. Whether each sentence begins with a capital.

3. Whether each sentence ends with a period.

4. Whether there are any other improvements that you can make.

VI.-KINDS OF WORDS.

1. Nouns. Whatever we can think of or say any thing about, has a name, and a name is a Noun:

We can also speak of virtue, goodness, wisdom, brav ery, and many other things that we can neither see nor hear. Now all these names are NOUNS.

2. Verbs. But we can not talk about a thing without using another kind of word called a Verb, to express what we mean in regard to the thing named:

A desk stands. Thunder roars. Chicago is a city. Temperance brings health. John beat James.

Write the following NOUNS in one column, and the VERBS in another:

1. Rain falls. 2. Smoke rises. 3. John broke the window. 4. The Thames flows. 5. Paris is a city. 6. Lucy visited Thomas. 7. The sun shines. 8. The teacher gave a holiday. 9. Robert spins a top. 10. Mary played a game.

3. Adjectives.-A mere name is not always a sufficiently definite sign of the meaning of a Noun. Other words, called Adjectives, are sometimes put beside it to denote color, shape, size, kind, quantity, etc.:

2. A fine brown horse won the

1. The man stole a brown muff. long race. 3. Many persons saw it. 4. Pleasant weather makes us cheerful. 5. Sweet sleep brings fairy dreams. 6. Three sunny days have followed two gloomy ones.

4. Adverbs. A fuller meaning is often given to the Verb, and also to the Adjective, by the use of words called Adverbs, to express time, place, manner, and degree:

He called yesterday. Go quickly. He will be here to-day. She sang nicely. Richard was very angry. He was exceedingly sorry.

Underline the following ADVERBS:

1. Try again. 2. Write carefully. 3. You will soon learn. 4. She behaves well. 5. It is very easy. 6. Step backward. 7. Nobody really tries to write carelessly.

5. Pronouns.-A certain kind of word may be used instead of a Noun; namely, a Pro-noun. The principal

Pronouns are:

I-me.
He-him.

She-her.

It.

We-us.
You.
They--them.

Underline the following PRONOUNS:

1. I love a rose. 2. Do you? 3. It perfumes the garden. 4. He told John we would come. 5. They brought us fruit. 6. She asked them to let her go.

6. Prepositions.-There are other words that have no meaning in themselves. The meaning lies in their rela tion to NOUNS. Such words are called Prepositions, because they are usually placed before Nouns:

Above reach.
In prison.

Below the table.
Before dinner.

On the cart.
Behind the door.