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Mr. George Gaylord

R. F. D. 3

McHenry
Illinois

The Acme Company
26 N. Jefferson St.

Detroit, Michigan

A REPLY TO A LETTER

99. Suppose, on the other hand, that you are the manufacturers of the bicycle and that you have received one of the letters that you have just

written. Write a reply and explain how the mistake probably occurred, and say that an extra pedal is being sent by express.

Be careful how you begin your letters. Some business men begin in this style: "Yours of the 3rd inst. rec'd and in reply would beg to advise you, etc." This is exceedingly awkward; no one talks in such a manner. Why, for example, should the words has been and I (or we) be omitted, and why should the writer "beg to advise"? You may beg leave to advise, or beg leave to inform, if you wish to be so formal; but "beg to advise" is nonsense. Write your letters in a plain, straightforward way, using such language as you would use in conversation. Also, avoid abbreviations; there is no reason why received, for example, should be abbreviated.

Some people object to beginning a letter with the word I, on the ground that it is egotistical. For the same reason would it not be necessary to leave that word out of our conversation? When you speak to one of your friends, do you take care not to begin with I, lest you be considered an egotist? The cases are the same. If it is easy and natural for you to begin a letter with I, do so. The-same caution is necessary about this word, however, as about others don't use it too often.

EXERCISE IN CRITICISM

100. Have two or three of the letters written on the blackboard, and criticize them in detail as to substance and form.

GROUP WORK

101. For several days, work in groups at the blackboard: some will write orders for goods, inquiries, and complaints; others will answer the letters.

INDIRECT OBJECTS

102. Read the following sentences:

I.. "He gave me this advice."

2. "He gave them an eel to govern them."

3. "What pledge can I give them of your fidelity?"

4. Her mother bought her a pony.

5. I have granted you too many favors already.

6. Nurse told us children a ghost story.

7. Give me the book.

8. My father made us a sled.

9. This watch was given me by my father.

In the first sentence given above, the object is "advice." There is also the word "me," which looks like an object, as indeed it is, but of a different kind. It is called the indirect object, or, to use the full term, the dative of indirect object. The direct object names the thing upon which the action falls; the indirect object indicates the person or thing to or for which the action was performed. Thus "advice" is the direct object in the sentence we are discussing, and."me" is the indirect object.

What are the direct and the indirect objects in the other example sentences? What objects have modifiers? In what sentence is there no direct object?

103. Write a few sentences containing objects and indirect objects.

EXERCISE IN GRAMMAR

104. There follows another fable of Æsop, called “The Lion and the Dolphin." It should be studied for the sake of determining (a) what the predicate verbs and modifiers are, (b) what the subjects and modifiers are, and (c) what the direct objects, the indirect objects, and their modifiers are. You should also be able to detect the group objects, which may of themselves contain objects.

You will need some help, however, because some of the sentences have more than one set of verbs and subjects. The first sentence, for example, has five verbs "was roaming," "saw," "lift," "proposed," and "form." The subject of "was roaming" is "that"; the subject of "saw" is "lion"; the subject of “lift” is “dolphin”; the subject of “proposed" is "lion"; and the subject of "form" is "they.' One of the subjects, therefore, has two verbs, which are joined by "and"; that is, “A lion

and proposed .

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This may look somewhat difficult; but if you will first carefully determine what are the verbs in each sentence, and then carefully consider what are the subjects of them, you will have made a good beginning, and the difficulty will be less than by any other method.

"A lion that was roaming by the seashore saw a dolphin lift up its head out of the water, and proposed that they form a partnership. 'For,' said he, 'I am the king of beasts on the earth, and you are the king of beasts in the water; and we ought, therefore, to be the best of friends.' The dolphin gladly consented. Not long afterward the

lion had a combat with a wild bull, and called on the dolphin to help him. The dolphin, though quite willing to help him, was unable to do so, as he could in no way reach the land. The lion abused him, and called him a traitor. The dolphin replied, 'Nay, my friend, blame not me, but Nature, which gave me the sovereignty of the sea, but quite denied me the power of living upon the land!''

PUNCTUATION

105. In the first sentence the verbs "saw" and "proposed" are joined by "and," but several words intervene between the two verbs. In such a case you make a slight pause or jog of the voice before the connective word "and." Therefore when the sentence is written a comma is used in that place. Can you tell why, in terms of grammar, there is a comma after "bull" in the fourth sentence?

What other punctuation marks can you explain the use of? Why are both quotation marks and half-quotation marks used?

EXERCISE IN GRAMMAR ·

106. The passage given below is the beginning of a story called "The Story of the Youth Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was." Study it as you did the fable in section 104.

"A certain father had two sons, the elder of whom was sharp and sensible, and could do everything; but the younger was stupid, and could neither learn nor understand anything; and when people saw him they said, 'There's a fellow who will give his father some trouble.'

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