9. One evening we were riding along a dusty road that is used very much. The road had a deep ditch on the right side of it. We were riding along having much fun when we saw a car coming down the road swinging from one side of the road to the other.

10. My brother and I climbed the hill gingerly. We were looking for the yellow jackets' nest hidden in the ground among the briers.

11. One early spring morning my brother and I were mending the fence. We had to go along the fence and see if there were holes under the fence. If there were any we had to stop the holes up. We were going along when my brother stooped over to move an old piece of rotten stump. He had scarcely done so when he stepped back about five feet and shouted, "A bumblebees' nest!"

12. The children at last had located the bumblebees' nest. Armed with sticks, they began punching and digging into it. Suddenly a bee flew out, followed by many more.

13. "Why don't you come and skate? Don't be a spoil-sport! Thus urged, I rented a pair of fearfully shining skates and sat down to the mysterious job of putting them on.

14. I could see, very indistinctly, swiftly receding objects in the dim moonlight.

15. As I came around the corner I beheld a vandal writing on the wall of our new building.

EXERCISE 2

TELLING A STORY WITH A GOOD BEGINNING

Tell the class a little story suggested by one of the titles below, taking special care to begin well.

What are the three

chief requisites of a good beginning? Plan carefully the order and the choice of details, so that you will hold the attention which you arouse by your opening sentences.

Be accurate in pronouncing syllables. It is especially easy to swallow unaccented syllables if you have not trained

yourselves to speak real English. Here is prescription number three for muscles that are lazy or lack skill; take vigorously for one minute.

In this connection you may learn something from the newspaper clipping reproduced below. Does this kind of pronunciation have anything to do with poor spelling?

CHOICE BITS OF UNITED STATES LANGUAGE

९९ Can you speak the language of the United States?" asks a card carried by the members of the American Protective Association. We don't know whether we can or not, but we'll do our best to reproduce a conversation we heard on a street car yesterday. "Wheurjyego las night?"

"Nowhrs. Stay dut home."

"I seen Marry Pickford in a swell play. Jim come overn picked us up in the Lizzie."

Huh-huh. Mean Coraz goantuh Gert's. Jye ever go over

EXERCISE 3

MAKING SURE OF KNOWING SUBJECT AND PREDICATE ELEMENTS IN SENTENCES

Here is a little story with a beginning that catches attention. The sentences have been simplified so that you can analyze them to find the subject and the predicate element of each. Answer the following questions in regard to each sentence: 1. What is spoken of?

2. What characteristic is predicated of it?
3. What is the subject element, and why?
4. What is the predicate element, and why?

5. What is the complete subject? the complete predicate?

Joe Carling had discovered two men stealing gold from Mr. Hayward's creek. They went farther up the stream to work. Joe hid their bag of precious sand and their weapons. The two men, coming back, caught him. One thief gripped him by the neck with both hands. Joe shouted for help. His big dog, Soldier, came bounding to the rescue. Soldier was truly named. He seized one thief by the leg. The other man left Joe and beat the dog's head with a stone. Neither man dared lay hold of their big enemy. The two were afraid to separate. Time and again they were fight ing back to back. Exultantly Joe stood on the bank above, watching the big dog fight for his master. Soldier gave the pair no rest. Cannily he dodged their blows and stones. Snapping at their hands or their feet, he leaped back at them again and again. Often his teeth clicked in their very faces.

At last the pair had backed down the channel to a fallen treetop. Here they managed to arm themselves with clubs. Now they fought a retreating fight to the top of the big ditch.

Meanwhile Joe had given the Westerner's resonant, far-reaching trumpet whistle. He had the joy of hearing three answering rifleshots from Mr. Hayward's house. But Soldier had driven the thieves into the bushes.

EXERCISE 4

USING THE SAME FORM OF PRONOUN AS SUBJECT AND PREDICATE ELEMENTS

Since the predicate element always refers to the subject element and is linked closely to it, the same form of pronoun is used for both elements. Nobody ever uses the wrong forms except in case of six pronouns: I, he, she, we, they, who.1 Learn these six pronouns and be sure to use these forms and no others as subject and predicate elements. Fill each blank in the following sentences with as many of them as possible, and tell in each case whether it is the subject element or the predicate element. As a matter of courtesy should you generally put I first in speaking of yourself and someone else? Read aloud the correct sentences until they sound right to you.

5. The boy that you saw in the corridor was not

8.

9.

and

are not invited.

and Jack had quarreled over a trifle.

and the organ-grinder disappeared around

11. - were

12. It could n't be

1 This statement refers to present-day English, since we no longer use

thou and ye in ordinary prose.

EXERCISE 5

WRITING A LETTER WITH A GOOD BEGINNING AND GOOD SENTENCES

Is it courteous to begin a friendly letter with "Having nothing else to do"? Is it interesting to begin with, "I take my pen in hand," or "I shall now answer your last letter"? How do you like a letter to begin? Comment on the beginnings of the letters in Problem VI. Below are several good beginnings of letters; what makes them good? A letter from Phillips Brooks in Venice to his little niece:

Dear Gertie,

When the little children in Venice want to take a bath, they just go down to the front steps of the house and jump off, and swim about in the street.

Some friendly letters from people of different ages: Dearest Gladys,

I can hardly study to-night for watching a dog and cat here in the room. They do some of the funniest things.

Dear Bud,

You have no idea what the measles is causing you to miss at school this week. The English department is having a spring house-cleaning. They are getting rid of bad English.

Dear Polly,

Kate's Monday letter, telling of your Saturday chill, has just arrived. I have telephoned the doctor, and as soon as he calls I will send you his instructions.

Applying all that you have learned about good beginnings, planning, choice of definite details, and correct letter form, write to your father, mother, or some other member of the