English Grammar and Composition for Public Schools. G. H. Armstrong

      Select the words in the following sentences that tell or assert something of the thing spoken of:—

1.	Boys play.
2.	The sun shines.
3.	The snow melts.
4.	Mountains are high.

      A word that is used to make an assertion is called a verb.

      Note.—The word verb is derived from the Latin word verbum, meaning a word, and this part of speech is so called because it is the word, the most important word in every sentence. There can be no sentence without a verb.

      EXERCISE I.

      Name the verbs in the following sentences, and state what each tells or asserts:—

1.	The girls gathered some water-lilies.
2.	That house was built last century.
3.	He slept for three hours.
4.	The gardener fell from a high tree.
5.	The coachman struck the horse, and it kicked him.
6.	King Edward I. nearly conquered Scotland.
7.	She must weep or she will die.
8.	And still they rowed amidst the roar
	Of waters fast prevailing:
	Lord Ullin reached that fatal shore,
	His wrath was changed to wailing.

      EXERCISE II.

      Write sentences containing each of the following words used as subjects, and underline the verbs:—

      Plants, rivers, paper, gold, pen, fish, birds, stars, flowers, money.

LESSON VII.

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      ADVERBS.

      Name the words in the following sentences that modify the verbs, that show how, when or where actions were performed:—

1.	The girls recited well.
2.	The teacher often read a story.
3.	I left my pencil there.

      A word that is used to modify the meaning of a verb is called an adverb.

      An adverb may also modify the meaning of an adjective, as, He is very quiet.

       An adverb may also modify the meaning of another adverb; as, She writes more rapidly than you.

      An adverb is a word that is used to modify the meaning of a verb, an adjective or another adverb.

      EXERCISE I.

      State the adverbs in the following sentences, and name the word which each modifies:—

1.	Here let us sit and talk of former times.
2.	I never saw so clear a sky.
3.	How proudly they strode along!
4.	Now let me die in peace.
5.	The grass is too damp yet.
6.	The face of the country suddenly changed.
7.	The next night it came again.
8.	The storm came on before its time;
	She wandered up and down,
	And many a hill did Lucy climb,
	But never reached the town.

      EXERCISE II.

      1. Write four sentences each containing an adverb modifying a verb.

      2. Write two sentences each containing an adverb modifying an adjective.

      3. Write two sentences each containing an adverb modifying an adverb.

LESSON VIII.

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      PREPOSITIONS.

      Name the words in the following sentences that express the relation of a noun or pronoun to some other word:—

1.	We withdrew from the room.
2.	The boys ran through the hall.
3.	This box is made of paper.
4.	I went to school with him.

       A word that is used to express the relation of a noun or pronoun to some other word in the sentence is called a preposition.

      The noun or pronoun which the preposition connects in sense with some other word in the sentence, is called its object; as, The men are in the field.

      EXERCISE I.

      Select the prepositions, and state the words between which each shows a relation:—

1.	He threw the ball over the fence.
2.	An old man fell into a pond.
3.	A stranger came within our gates.
4.	From many lands comes the cry for help.
5.	The boat went under the water.
6.	This letter was written by my sister.
7.	At noon I went home.
8.	I chatter over stony ways,
	In little sharps and trebles.
	I bubble into eddying bays,
	I babble on the pebbles.

      EXERCISE II.

      1. Write three sentences each containing a preposition expressing a relation between a noun and a verb. Underline the object.

      2. Write three sentences each containing a preposition expressing a relation between two nouns. Underline the object of the preposition.

      3. Write three sentences each containing a preposition expressing a relation between a noun and an adjective.

LESSON IX.

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      CONJUNCTIONS.

      Name the words that connect sentences, or words or phrases, used in the same way in the following sentences:—

1.	The sun shone out brightly and the mist cleared away.
2.	You may go, but I must remain here.
3.	Cold and damp was the maiden’s grave.
4.	The grass grows in the valley and on the mountain side.

      Note.—A phrase is a group of related words without a verb.

      A word that connects sentences, or words, or phrases, used in the same way in a sentence, is called a conjunction.

      EXERCISE I.

      Select the conjunctions in the following sentences, and tell what each connects:—

1.	I went to school, but my brother did not.
2.	My books are in my bag, or I have lost them.
3.	The boys ran away because they were afraid.
4.	Though I fail, I shall attempt to do it.
5.	He was a king, yet he was not happy.
6.	The rich and the poor meet together.
7.	Iron is more useful than gold.
8.	They had full warning, so that they are without excuse.
9.	I am sure that he did it.
10.	The morning came, the chaise was brought,
	But yet was not allowed
	To drive up to the door lest all
	Should say that she was proud.

      EXERCISE II.

      1. Write a sentence containing a conjunction connecting two sentences.

      2. Write a sentence containing a conjunction connecting two phrases.

       3. Write