1 PART II THE MAIN PARTS OF THE SEN- COMPLETE PREDICATES AND COMPLETE 36. Read the following sentences very carefully: 1. "A boy was stung by a nettle." 2. "Her two sisters jeered at her." 3. "An astronomer used to go out of a night to observe the stars." 4. "A hare once ridiculed the short legs and slow pace of the tortoise." 5. "The bridge became more than ever an object of superstitious awe.” 6. "Hans Van Ripper now began to feel some uneasiness about the fate of poor Ichabod and the saddle." 7. "The Mock Turtle sighed deeply, and drew the back of one flapper across his eyes." In each of these sentences there is a word or a group of words that asserts, or predicates, something. Such a word or group of words is called a complete predicate. Besides the predicate, there is in each of these sentences a word or a group of words about which this same "something" is asserted, or predicated. Such a word or group of words is called a complete subject. In the first sentence the predicate is "was stung by a nettle," since this group of words predicates, that is, tells what was done. If you ask Who (or what) was stung? you get the reply, "A boy." The complete subject is therefore "A boy." In the second sentence the words that predicate are "jeered at her." If you ask, Who (or what) jeered? you get the reply, "Her two sisters." "Her two sisters" is therefore the complete subject. What are the complete predicates and the complete subjects of the other sentences? 37. Let a member of the class copy one of his compositions on the blackboard, and tell what is the complete predicate and the complete subject of each sentence. PREDICATE VERB, SUBJECT SUBSTANTIVE, AND MODIFIERS 38. Reconsider the example sentences in section 36. In the first sentence "was stung by a nettle" is the complete predicate; but there are two words that tell simply what was done, and three others tell, in this case, how it was done. The words that tell what was done are "was stung"; and these words are called the predicate verb. The words that tell how the thing was done are "by a nettle." Because you think of these words as belonging to the verb, that is, because they narrow its meaning, or modify it, they are called modifiers of the verb. In like manner the subject is often composed partly of modifiers; the simple subject itself is called the subject substantive. In the sentence we are considering, "boy" is the subject substantive, and “A” is a modifier. In the second sentence "jeered at her" is the complete predicate, while "jeered" is the predicate verb and "at her" the modifier. Also, "Her two sisters" is the complete subject, while "sisters" is the subject substantive and "Her" and "two" are the modifiers. The predicate verb, then, is the word or group of words that asserts. Run, go, am, be, have, have been, and had been seen are predicate verbs. When the predicate verb is a group of words, like the last three in the list, it is called a verb phrase. The subject substantive is that part of the sentence about which something is asserted by the predicate verb. Subject substantives are usually nouns, as man, beast, duty, courage, audience; or pronouns, as I, you, we, and they. Consider again the sentences given in section 36, and determine in each case what is the complete predicate, the predicate verb, the complete subject, and the subject substantive. 39. After a composition has been written on the blackboard, determine the complete predicate, the predicate verb, the complete subject, and the subject substantive of each sentence. THERE 40. In the sentence There is a cloud in the sky, you may think that "there" is the subject, but it is not; the subject is "cloud," for it is the cloud that is in the sky. And if you will think the matter over carefully, you will see that "there" really means nothing; it is simply a word that we use at the beginning of the sentence, where the subject usually comes, so that the subject may follow the predicate verb. This is an idiom, that is, an expression peculiar to a language. In a question the word has a different position, as in Is there a cloud in the sky? There is also used as in the sentence No clouds are in the sky; the sun is shining there. Here the word has a distinct meaning, which is in that place; it prevents the repetition of "in the sky." Their, which is pronounced nearly the same as the other word but has a different spelling, is a very different word; it expresses possession, as in the example sentence, The clouds have lost their color. The spelling of these words must be attended. to carefully: their gives the idea of belonging to, while there either means nothing at all or it means in that place. 41. Write on the blackboard some sentences containing the words there and their. PREDICATES AND SUBJECTS CONTINUED 42. Read the following sentences with care: I. 1. "A monkey, perched upon a lofty tree, saw some fishermen casting their nets into a river." 2. "If you would only spare my life, I would be sure to repay your kindness." 3. "This is the house that Jack built." 4. "A horse, an ox, and a dog, sought shelter and protection from man." 5. "A fisherman, engaged in his calling, made a very successful cast, and captured a great haul of fish." 6. "Ichabod was a suitable figure for such a steed." 7. "Is not this man worthy to resemble thee?" 8. "A wolf, having a bone stuck in his throat, hired a crane, for a large sum, to put her head into his throat and draw out the bone." IO. 9. "These sails we lowered, in terror of our lives." 'Some dogs, who had found the skin of a lion, began to tear it in pieces with their teeth." II. "Bind up my wounds!" The sentences above are to be treated like those in section 36, but they are rather more difficult. In the first one the complete predicate is "saw some fishermen casting their nets into a river," and the predicate verb is "saw," the rest being a modifier. The complete subject is "A monkey, perched upon a lofty tree," while "monkey" is the subject substantive and "A" and "perched upon a lofty tree" are modifiers. The second sentence is particularly difficult because you will have to determine whether "If you would only spare my life" is a modifier of the predicate or of the subject. To which do you more closely attach it? The sentence is difficult, too, because this group of words has its own predicate verb, "would spare," and its own subject, "you"; and yet this verb is not the verb of the whole sentence, nor is the subject the subject of the whole |