English grammar — Key Ideas to Explore

n of the subject, we should use an adjective; as, “The oak leaves turned _brown_.” If we wish to tell the manner of an action, we should use an adverb; as, “The leaves turned _quickly_ this fall.”

=Exercise 1.=—Tell the part of speech of each italicized word in these sentences, and justify its use.

1. Mary dresses _neatly_ and always looks _charming_.

2. The children must keep _quiet_ to-night.

3. Stand _straight_ and breathe _deeply_.

4. Look at them _kindly_ and speak _gently_.

5. The old bishop looks _kind_ and _gentle_.

6. This pie tastes very _queer_.

7. Mother feels _uneasy_ if we are _out late_.

8. The boy seemed _nervous_ and felt _uneasily_ of his watch chain.

9. Poor oil made the lamp smell very _disagreeable_.

10. All the doors stood _open_.

11. The air grew _cold steadily_.

12. Keep the box _carefully_ till I return.

=Exercise 2.=—Select the right word for each of the following sentences, and give your reason in each case:—

1. The light is so poor that I cannot see the picture (_plain_ or _plainly_).

2. I am frightened when she speaks (_cross_ or _crossly_) to me.

3. Sit with me so that you can hear (_good_ or _well_).

4. Does he always deal (_honest_ or _honestly_) with you?

5. The miser died (_miserable_ or _miserably_).

6. You came so (_sudden_ or _suddenly_) that I was taken by surprise.

7. No wonder you fell, you move too (_quick_ or _quickly_).

8. How (_stylish_ or _stylishly_) she dresses.

9. I (_sure_ or _surely_) mailed the letter.

10. Next time I shall act more (_sensible_ or _sensibly_).

11. Money comes (_easy_ or _easily_) to him, and is soon gone.

12. I felt so (_bad_ or _badly_) that I cried.

13. I was ill yesterday, but I feel pretty (_good_ or _well_) this morning.

14. All my rose bushes look (_fine_ or _finely_).

XXVII. REVIEW OF VERBS

=93.= A =verb= is an asserting word.

A =transitive verb= is one that asserts action performed upon some person or thing.

A transitive verb is completed by a =direct object=.

The =direct object= of a transitive verb is a word or a group of words that completes the meaning of the verb and names the receiver of the action.

The =base word= of a =direct object= is usually a noun.

An =intransitive verb= is one that asserts, (1) being, or (2) action not performed upon any person or thing.

An =intransitive verb of action= needs no complement.

An =intransitive verb of being= is usually completed by a subjective complement.

A =subjective complement= is a word or a group of words that completes a verb and refers to the same person or thing as the subject.

A subjective complement denotes identity with the subject, or tells the class to which the subject belongs, or some quality of the subject.

The =base word= of a =subjective complement= may be a noun or an adjective.

=Exercise.=—Select and classify all the verbs in the following sentences. Tell the subject of each verb, and tell how each verb is completed or modified.

1. As soon as he saw the cat in the soap barrel, he set the lamp down on the cellar bottom, and laughed so that he could hardly move.

2. When night came, I felt still more lonesome.

3. Little Toomai shall become a great tracker.

4. The wind whistled around the low, unplastered chamber, but the beds were soft and warm, and the guests were ready for sleep.

5. The youngest daughter was the gentlest and most beautiful creature ever seen, and the pride of all the people in the land.

6. I am too stiff and sore from a terrible fall I have had, to write more than one line.

7. Next month, when the city had returned to its sunbaked quiet, the Hindu did a thing that no Englishman would have dreamed of doing; for, so far as the world’s affairs went, he died.

8. The knoll in the tamarack swamp was a haven of peace amid the fierce but furtive warfare of the wilderness.

9. Beauty rose by four o’clock every morning, lighted the fires, cleaned the house, and prepared the breakfast for the whole family.

10. More years sped swiftly and tranquilly away.

11. What a place the old market must have been in the days of Herod the Builder!

12. The lizard belonging to my mistress was a very beautiful creature.

13. The rocky walls are red with the scarlet of the geranium, aglow with the orange of the lantana, or they are hidden by the purple veil of the wild convolvulus. The dainty sweet alyssum clings to the rock in great patches, and the little rice plant lays its pink cheek against it lovingly.

14. The spring had been a trying season for the lank she-bear.

15. Right proud the baron was of his gallant steed.

16. There is the house with the gate red-barred.