Exercise 18. Pick out the names of groups or collections. 1. When the army was defeated many regiments suffered severely, and some companies were almost destroyed. 2. Congress appointed a committee to consider the matter. 3. The Jewish nation was made up of twelve tribes and each tribe was made up of a number of families. 4. The police dispersed the mob. 5. The jury found the prisoner guilty. 6. The postmaster was a member of the council. 7. Abraham had great flocks and herds. 14. We have now seen that Nouns 1 may be 1. The names of particular persons, places, or things. (Proper Nouns.) 2. The names of kinds of persons, places, or things, or of qualities, actions, or groups. (Common Nouns.) Learn 15. A Noun is a word used as the name of something. NOTE. -It is the name of the thing (or person, place, quality, action, or group) and not the thing itself that is a Noun. Thus a desk is not a Noun, but the word desk is. Exercise 19. Pick out all the Nouns in the following sentences, and say of each Noun whether it is Proper or Common. 1. I had a little pony, His name was Dapple Gray; 2. Little Tommy Tucker What shall he have to eat? White bread and butter. 3. The lion and the unicorn Were fighting for the crown. 1 See "Notes for Teachers," p. 163, Note 3. 4. The dew was falling fast, the stars began to blink; I heard a voice; it said, "Drink, pretty creature, drink." 5. There was no wind, and the heat of the day was heavy. 6. The jury brought in a verdict of guilty, much to the surprise of Judge Blake. 7. Gentlemen may cry "Peace, peace!" but there is no peace. 8. We had a heavy rain last Thursday. 9. The grief of the parents at the loss of their children was boundless. 10. Painting can be mastered only by long study. 11. A little weeping would ease my heart. 12. His speech at the dinner was a great success. 13. The thickness of this ink makes writing very difficult. 14. The fellow supposed his theft was only a clever trick. VERBS Exercise 20. In the following sentences pick out first the Noun and then the word that tells what the person or thing named1 does. Tom plays. Parrots talk. Birds fly. Fishes swim. Fire burns. Larks sing. Bees sting. Dogs bark. Lions roar. Babies cry. Fred learns. Cats mew. Stars shine. Mary reads. Owls hoot. Girls sew. Day dawns. Rain falls. Exercise 21. (a) After each of the following Nouns place a word that tells what the person or thing named does. 2 Horses. Lightning. Flowers. William. Swallows. Soldiers. Lions. Rivers. Gas. Singers. The sun. The wind. The eagle. The ship. The scholars. The bell. The dog. The moon. The child. The cat. The mouse. The tailor. The thief. The carpenter. (b) The following words may be used to or things do; place a Noun before each. 3 The baker. say what persons Cries. Howls. Walks. Plays. Fell. Neigh. Whistled. Sings. Sing. Sang. Sleeps. Slept. Rang. Flow. Fight. Sail. Grows. Cried. Bloom. Runs. Mews. Laughed. Soar. Swim. Shines. Dawns. Boils. Gallops. Buzz. 16. In Grammar a word used to tell what persons or things do is called a Verb. 17. Some Verbs may make complete sense when joined to Nouns; as, "The fire burns"; "The wind roars." (See other examples in Exercise 20.) 1 See "Notes for Teachers," p. 163, Note 4. 2 The word the is no part of the Noun. The Noun may have the before it. Other Verbs do not make complete sense when joined to Nouns. Thus, if some one says, "Walter helps," or Tom broke," we ask, "Helps whom?" "Broke what?" Exercise 22. (a) In the following sentences pick out the Verbs. father. 1. Walter helps his 3. Alice led the dog. 5. Masons build walls. dog bit the beggar. 8. Artists paint pictures. 9. A poet writes poems. 10. The smith hammered the iron. 11. Horses draw carts. 12. The hounds caught the fox. 13. The gardener watered the flowers. 14. Miss Wilson sang a ballad. 15. The nurse carried the baby. 2. Tom broke a window. 4. The servant sweeps the room. 6. The girl milks the cow. 7. The (b) Fill in each blank in the following incomplete sentences with a Verb. apples. 2. The dog. . . . the thief. 3. The ... · a purse. bread. 8. The servant coats. 7. Bakers a dish. 9. The hunter a tiger. 10. Mary . . . . the lamp. 18. The Verbs we have had tell of doing. But some words that do not tell of doing or acting are also Verbs. In the sentences "Be quiet," "Grass is green,” be and is do not express doing; but they are used to tell something to or about a person or thing, and they are Verbs. 19. The different forms belonging to a Verb are called its" "parts." These are some parts of the Verb be: is, are, was, were, been. Thus we say, The soldiers are ready, The children were absent. Exercise 23. (a) In the following sentences pick out the parts of the Verb be. 1. Mr. Lyons is a blacksmith. 2. The prisoners are guilty. 3. The man was a soldier. 4. Those birds were sparrows. 5. Homer was a poet. 6. The horse is dead. 7. The child is lame. 8. The sun was bright. 9. Paris is a city. 10. Washington was a general. (b) Fill in each of the following blanks with a part of the Verb be. son 1. The fruit. . . . ripe. 2. Sugar. sweet. 3. Jackour gardener. 4. The boys at school yes terday. 5. Ethel 5. Ethel . . . . in Manchester last week. 6. Shaka great poet. 7. Julius Cæsar Learn a Roman 20. A Verb is a word used to tell something to or about a person or thing. OBJECT AND ATTRIBUTE 21. When a Verb tells of doing it is often followed by a Noun showing to what person or thing the action is done. (See Exercise 22.) Thus in the sentence, “Mary obeys her mother," obeys tells what Mary does, and mother shows whom she obeys; and in the sentence, "Tom lost his hat," lost tells what Tom did, and hat shows what he lost. 22. In such a sentence, the name of the person or thing that an action is done to is called the Object of the Verb. EXAMPLES OF OBJECTS Parents love children. Horses munch hay. Tom missed Fred. Children obey parents. Mice fear cats. By noticing these sentences it will be seen that the Object can always be found by asking "Whom?" or "What?" after the Verb. |