Select the ADJECTIVES, and tell the DEGREE of Com parison. 1. The best exercise. 2. A prudent man. 3. Most excellent advice. 4. A bigger basket. 5. The strongest ox. 6. The most learned of men. 7. A very elegant dress. 8. A useful invention. 9. A magnificent Italian sunrise. 10. The prettiest girl. B. Make sentences containing these Adjectives: 5. More 1. Brilliant. 2. Skillful. 3. Wooden. 4. Interesting. devoted. 6. Imperfect. 7. Zealous. 8. Most pleasant. 9. Pleas anter. 10. Worst. Exchange papers, and write letters of criticism. C. 1. Write a sentence stating that John possesses a greater degree of wisdom than Alexander, expressing the italicized words by one Adjective. MODEL.-John is wiser than Alexander. 2. Write a sentence stating that sugar possesses the greatest degree of sweetness of all substances. [One Adjective for italicized words.] 3. Write a sentence stating that contentment has more of the quality of goodness than wealth. [One Adjective for italicized words.] 4. Write a sentence stating that Bismarck has the greatest ability of all the statesmen now living. 5. What is the mountain that has the greatest degree of loftiness in the world? [Give the answer in a sentence containing the adjective in the superlative degree.] 6. Write a sentence stating that the Mississippi has greater length than the Amazon. [One Adjective for italicized words.] XV. SENTENCES WITH ADJECTIVES. 1. A Noun may have one Adjective to describe it, or it may have many Adjectives. 1. Good wine is the best. 2. Good, old wine is the best. 3. Good, old, red wine is the best. 1. The Mississippi is longer than the Connecticut. 2. The Mississippi is longer and wider than the Connecticut. 3. The Mississippi is longer, wider, and grander than the Connecticut. 1. Bacon was the brightest of mankind. 2. Bacon was the brightest and wisest of mankind. 3. Bacon was the brightest, wisest, and meanest of mankind. 2. PUNCTUATION.-In a series of Adjectives belonging to the same Noun, a comma is placed after each Adjective except the last; but when two Adjectives are linked by and or or, the comma is omitted. ILLUSTRATIONS. 1. "Good, old wine is the best"—one comma to separate the two Adjectives. 2. "The Mississippi is longer and wider than the Connecticut"-two Adjectives linked by and; hence not separated by a comma. 3. "Good, old, red wine is the best"-two commas to separate the three Adjectives. 4. "The Mississippi is longer, wider, and grander than the Connecticut"-two commas used to separate the three Adjectives. 3. The sentence, Bacon was the brightest, wisest, meanest of mankind-may be broken up into the following state ments: 1. Bacon was the brightest of mankind. 3. Bacon was the meanest of mankind. 4. In like manner, a number of separate statements may be combined into one simple sentence, by taking out the Adjective part from each. ILLUSTRATION. 1. In the morning, a sailor came on board. 2. He was a fat sailor. 3. He was a jolly sailor. 4. He was a red-nosed sailor. Combined: "In the morning, a fat, jolly, red-nosed sailor came on board." Exercise 13. A. Combine each set into one simple sentence by taking out the ADJECTIVE part from each statement, as in the model above. 1. One day my mother gave me an orange. 2. It was a very large orange. 3. It was a round orange. 4. It was a red orange. 5. It was a sweet orange. 1. Last Christmas my father gave me a dress. 2. It was a new dress. 3. It was a silk dress. 4. It was a costly dress. 1. I once had a friend. 2. She was a true friend. 3. She was a generous friend. 4. She was a noble-hearted friend. 5. She was a loving friend. 1. James Webster lost some marbles. 4. They were white marbles. 1. A boy ran away from school yesterday. 2. He was a cross boy. 3. He was a quarrelsome boy. 4. He was a lazy boy. 1. The speaker had a voice. 2. It was a shrill voice. 3. It was a thin voice. 4. It was a piping voice. 5. It was a disagreeable voice. 1. The Himalayas extend across Asia. 2. The Himalayas arc lofty. 3. The Himalayas are majestic. 4. The Himalayas are snow-capped. Exchange papers for correction. Attend particularly to the punctuation of the Adjectives. B. In the following passages, punctuate the ADJECTIVES. 1. The sailor had a large strong hard and sunburned hand. 2. The garden was filled with rare costly beautiful sweet-scented flowers. 3. Hattie had a short sensible well written well spelled and well punctuated composition. 4. The Condor is the largest strongest swiftest and most tireless of birds of prey. 5. The lofty majestic snow-capped Himalayas extend across Asia from east to west. XVI. PREDICATE ADJECTIVES. 1. The Adjectives that we have thus far taken notice. of have been Adjectives that have preceded the Nouns they described. Thus 1. Beautiful flowers bloom. 2. The blue sky shines above us. 2. Adjectives always belong to Nouns, but they do not always precede the Nouns that they belong to. ILLUSTRATIONS. 1. The flowers are beautiful. Beautiful and blue are just as much Adjectives in these sentences as they are in the first sentences, and they belong to exactly the same Nouns. In both cases beautiful describes "flowers," and blue describes "sky." But in the last sentences they are in the Predicate. 3. An Adjective always either accompanies the Noun it describes, or else it is in the Predicate after the Verb be. In the latter case the Noun it describes is the Subject of the sentence. Thus, in the sentence "The flowers are beautiful," the Subject is flowers, and it is described by the Adjective beautiful. Such an Adjective is called a Predicate Adjective. ILLUSTRATIONS. 1. In summer the days are long. Here long is the Predicate Adjective, and limits days. 2. Washington was brave, prudent, and wise. Brave, prudent, and wise, are Predicate Adjectives limiting Washington. 4. Punctuate Predicate Adjectives in the same way as Adjectives that precede Nouns. |