Plain English. Marian Wharton
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Название: Plain English
Автор: Marian Wharton
Издательство: Public Domain
Жанр: Зарубежная образовательная литература
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Does the open road attract you?
See the jostling crowds.
Or if we were discussing the class struggle, we might say:
Two classes have always existed.
To which class do you belong?
Join your class in the struggle.
In every one of these six groups of words we have a complete thought expressed. Each of these groups of words we call a sentence.
15. A sentence is a group of words expressing a complete thought.
Exercise 2
Write in each blank space the word necessary to express a complete thought.
SUBJECT AND PREDICATE
16. We have found that every sentence must have at least two words, one word to name that about which something is said and another word which does the saying or makes the assertion. In the sentence, Men work, we have these two parts; men which is the part about which something is said, and work which tells what men do.
The part about which something is said is called the subject.
In this sentence, Men work, men, therefore, is the subject, for it names that about which something is said.
17. The part that asserts or says something about the subject is called the predicate.
Therefore in this sentence, Men work, work is the predicate. In the following sentences draw a single line under the subject and a double line under the predicate, thus, Birds .
Ships sail.
Soldiers fight.
Flowers fade.
Horses neigh.
Flags wave.
Snow comes.
War rages.
Winds blow.
Fish swim.
18. We may add other words to the subject or the predicate and so enlarge their meaning, as for instance we may say:
The stately ships sail proudly away.
The war in Europe rages furiously.
The soldiers in the army fight like men gone mad.
Yet in every one of these sentences you will find the subject and the predicate,—Ships sail, War rages, Soldiers fight.
Every sentence must have a subject and a predicate, and it is a very important part of the study of sentences to be able to distinguish quickly and readily the subject and the predicate. Find that about which something is said, and that will always be the subject. Find that which is said about the subject, and that will be the predicate.
Every sentence must contain a subject and a predicate.
The subject of a sentence names that about which something is said.
The predicate tells that which is said about the subject.
Exercise 3
In the following sentences add other words to the subject and to the predicate to enlarge their meaning, then draw a single line under the subject and a double line under the predicate:
Ships sail.
Tides flow.
Stars shine.
Rain falls.
Children play.
Nature sleeps.
Waves break.
War rages.
Birds sing.
Exercise 4
In the following sentences the subject and the predicate have other words added to enlarge their meaning. Find the subject and predicate and draw a single line under the subject and a double line under the predicate, as in the sentence,
1. Our success lies in solidarity.
2. New occasions teach new duties.
3. Two classes exist in the world.
4. Labor creates all wealth.
5. The workers fight all battles.
6. Our time calls for earnest deeds.
7. Knowledge unlocks the door of life.
8. Ignorance bars the path to progress.
9. Few people think for themselves.
10. Hope stirs us to action.
SPELLING
LESSON 1
Spelling is the process of naming or writing in proper order the letters of a word. There is nothing that marks us so quickly as lacking in the qualities that go to make up a good education as our inability to spell the words most commonly used.
Spelling in English is rather difficult. If each letter represented but one sound, spelling would be an easy matter. Every word would be spelled just as it sounds. This is the goal of those who advocate phonetic spelling. Phonetic spelling simply means spelling according to sound. But our alphabet does not have a letter for every sound.
There are some forty-two different sounds used in English words and we have only twenty-six letters in the alphabet. Therefore some letters must do duty for several sounds. Then we have words which contain letters which are not sounded at all when the word is pronounced, so, all in all, spelling is a matter of memorizing.
The best way to become an accurate speller is to read much, to observe closely the forms of words and to write frequently. Always spell any word of which you are uncertain aloud several times and write it out several times. In this way you have aided the memory both through the eye and through the ear. If you are not sure of the spelling of a word do not use it until you have looked it up in the dictionary and made sure.
The words in this lesson are taken out of Lesson 1, Plain English Course. There are thirty in all, five for each day of the week. (1) Look up the meaning in the dictionary. (2) Learn the correct spelling. (3) Learn the correct pronunciation. (4) Use the word in a sentence of your own construction. (5) Use it during the day in your conversation; strive to make it a part of your working vocabulary.
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