13. ANALYSIS OF SENTENCES. Discourse is a general word denoting either prose or poetry. Paragraphs are composed of sentences. All sentences may be resolved into propositions. A complex or compound sentence has two or more predicates. A complex sentence must have at least one proposition that is de pendent, or that is used in the sense of a noun, an adjective, or an adverb. A compound sentence must have at least two propositions of which neither is dependent, or used in the sense of a noun, an adjective, or an adverb. A compound sentence may consist of complex sentences or mem bers. Exercises. Tell whether the sentence is simple, complex, or compound, and why; mention the propositions or clauses, and why; mention the subjects and the predicates, and why; and whether simple or compound, and why :— The flowers are gemmed with dew. The maple on the hill-side has lost its bright green, and its leaves have the hue of gold. As you come near, they spring up, fly a little distance, and light again. † Suspicion ever haunts the guilty mind. Hard things become easy by use; and skill is gained by littlo and little. The weight of years has bent him, and the winter of age rests upon his head. He touched his harp, and nations heard entranced. The union is the vital sap of the tree; if we reject the Constitution, we girdle the tree; its leaves will wither, its branches drop off, and the mouldering trunk will be torn down by the tempest. The good times, when the farmer entertained the traveler without pay; when he invited him to tarry, and join in the chase; when Christmas and Fourth of July were seasons of general festivity,—have passed away. "Thy worldly hopes," said the hermit, "shall have faded, thy castles of ambition crumbled, and thy fiery passions subdued, ere thou hast reached the meridian of life." § Read this Declaration at the head of the army, -every sword will be drawn from its scabbard, and the solemn vow uttered, to maintain it, or to perish on the bed of honor. (Construe both the infinitive phrases with each of the two clauses just before them in the same member.) What * A sentence is merely so much of discourse as makes a complete thought in the view of the person uttering it; a proposition is a single combination of such words as make a predication, judgment, or thought; and a phrase is merely two or more words rightly put together for thought, without expressing a predication. When? What kind of times? § S.id what costs nothing, is worth nothing. That he must fail, is certain. 'Tis liberty alone that gives the flowers of fleeting life their lustre and perfume. Go, and assist him, that the work may be finished. He who is false to God, is not true to man. Though thy slumbers may be deep, yet thy spirit shall not sleep; there are shades that will not vanish, there are thoughts thou canst not banish. To dress, to visit, to gossip, and to thrum her piano, are the chief employments of the modern belle. Every proposition is either declarative, interrogative, imperative, or exclamatory. Every sentence is the same, or a composite of these. A declarative proposition expresses a declaration; an interrogative proposition, a question; an imperative proposition, a command; and an exclamatory proposition, an exclamation. Ex.-"John rides that wild horse." "Does John ride that wild horse?" "John, ride that wild horse." "John rides that wild horse !" An exclamatory sentence is merely a declarative, an interrogative, or an imperative sentence, uttered chiefly to express the emotion of the speaker. Exercises. The propositions; and whether declarative, interrogative, imperative, or exclamatory, and why: What A waving willow was bending over the fountain. Rise, and defend thyself. Shall I assist you? How beautiful is yonder sunset! If James has a hundred marbles, why does he never show us any of them? Men may, I find, be honest, though they differ. Now Twilight lets her curtain down, and pins it with a star. Green be the turf above thee, friend of my better days. shall I say? What a piece of work is man! She is busy in the garden, among the posies. The spreading orange waves a load of gold. Hear him! hear him! There can be no study without time; and the mind must abide, and dwell upon things, or be always a stranger to the inside of them. The fly sat upon the axle-tree of the chariot-wheel, and said, "What a dust do I raise I" Every proposition is either independent or dependent. An independent proposition makes complete sense by itself. A dependent proposition depends on another for complete sense. The clause of a complex sentence on which the other clauses depend, is often called the principal or leading clause; its subject and predicate, the principal or leading subject and predicate; and the dependent clauses, subordinate clauses. Exercises. The propositions; and whether independent or dependent, and why:— The morning dawns, and the clouds disperse. The dew glistens, when the sun rises. I would not enter, on my list of friends, the man who needlessly sets foot upon a worm. Stillest streams oft water fairest meadows; and the bird that flutters least, is longest on the wing. The path of sorrow leads to the land where sorrow is unknown. If the mind be curbed and humbled too much in children--if their spirits be abased and, broken much by too strict a hand over them, they lose all their vigor and industry. Come ye in peace here, or come ye in war? In one place we saw a gang of sixty-five horses; but the buffaloes seemed absolutely to cover the ground. Come," says Puss, "without any more ado; 'tis time to go to breakfast: cats don't live upon dialogues." แ Every proposition may be divided into the entire subject and the entire predicate. The entire subject must have one or more subject-nominatives to the same verb or verbs. The entire predicate must have one or more finite verbs agreeing with the same subject, which may be called the predicate-verbs. Hence both subjects and predicates are either simple or compound. The subject-nominative may be a word, a phrase, or an entire clause; the predicate-verb is simply a verb, or a principal verb with its auxiliaries. Most grammarians call the entire subject the logical subject; the entire predicate, the logical predicate; the subject-nominative, the grammatical subject; and the predicate-verb, the grammatical predicate. This mode of naming is not so simple as the one we have given. Exercises. The propositions; the entire subjects, and then the subject-nominatives; the entire predicates, and then the predicate-verbs:— The leaves rustle Flowers bloom and alders ever quivIn youth alone, The same errors afford that their Men work. Most men work daily. The leaves rustle. in the passing breeze. Leaves and flowers must perish. fade. Leaves and flowers flourish and decay. Poplars and ering played, and nodding cypress formed a fragrant shade. unhappy mortals live; but, ah! the mighty gift is fugitive. run through all families in which there is wealth enough to sons may be good for nothing. Depart. In concert act, like modern friends, since one can serve the other's ends. That it is our duty to be kind and obliging, admits of no doubt. The division and quavering which please so much in music, have a resemblance to the glittering of light, as when the moonbeams play upon the water. It is often the fault of parents, guardians, and teachers, that so many persons miscarry. (Here either "It" or the clause "that so many," etc., may be considered the subject of "is," and the other term may be parsed as agreeing with the subject in case.) It is hardly practicable for the human mind to obtain a clear and familiar knowledge of an art, without illustrations and exemplifications. Ah me! the blooming pride of May, and that of beauty, are but one. The parts into which sentences are divided in analysis, are called elements. Subject-nominatives and predicate-verbs are the principal elements; and they may be modified by words, phrases, or clauses. A part that modifies another, adds something to its meaning, or takes away something. What modifies, is either explanatory or restrictive. Ex.-"The town lay at the foot of a hill, which we climbed." the foot of the hill which we climbed." "The town lay at Whatever modifies a substantive, is an adjective element. Ex." Solomon's Temple." What temple? "David, the king and psalmist." What David? "The land of palms." What land? "A hill crowned with majestic trees." What kind of hill? "A proposition to sell the farm." What proposition? "The store which is on the corner." What store? "A request that you will yo with us." What kind of request? What modifies, may itself be modified. 8. By a clause. "The WILLOW which stands by the spring," "A REQUEST that you will go with us to-morrow." A PRONOUN may be modified in the same ways, except not by a possessive. A modified word has frequently several modifications at once. Exercises. Evils lurking near. The nouns and pronouns, and by what they are modified:A dewy rose. The land of oranges. Lurking evils. Evils that lurk near. A house situated on the river. An opportunity to study. The sun's beams. Milton the poet. The deer which ran out of the field, and which I shot. A bright morning, fresh and balmy, that refreshed us all. The calumet was produced, and the two forlorn powers smoked eternal friendship between themselves, and vengeance upon their common spoilers, the Crows. The silence of the night; the calmness of the sea; the lambent radiance of the moon, trembling on the surface of the waves; and the deep azure of the sky, spangled with a thousand stars,-concurred to heighten the beauty of the scene. With loss of Eden, till one greater man restore us, and regain the blissful seat. Numerous small lakes lie inland, round which, on beaten trails, roam herds of red deer. Sweet day, so cool, so calm, so bright, the bridal of the earth and sky. Whatever modifies a verb, an adjective, or an adverb, or may be given in answer to an interrogative adverb, or as the complement of a predicate, is an adverbial element. Ex.-"The house was sold yesterday." When? "The house contains much furniture." Contains what? "The house was a mere cabin." Was what? "The horse fell, crushing its inmates." Fell how? "The house was sold to pay the gaurer's debts." Wuy? "The house was sold because the owner was in debt." "Why? A modified verb may be a finite verb, a participle, or an infinitive. A VERB may be modified— 1. By an objective. "Men BUILD houses." "I KNEW it TO BE him." 2. By a predicate-nominative. "John HAS BECOME a farmer." 3. By an adjective. 4. By an adverb. 5. By a participle+. "TO BE wise;" "James is idle."* "The horse RAN fast." 6. By an infinitive+. "The stone ROLLED thundering down the hill." * Owing to a slight radical difference in the modes of classifying, there is sometimes an apparent incongruity between Parsing and Analysis. Thus, in parsing, idle is referred to James, because James denotes the object to which the quality belongs; but, in analyzing, it is referred to is, because it makes with is the predicate. 8. By a clause. "She THINKS he is rich;" "He STUDIES that he may learn." Exercises. The verbs, and by what modified : A light beaming brightly. He writes with ease. Cast not pearls before swine. He became a partner. She is industrious. I intend to go. I believe he will succeed when he makes a vigorous effort. Among the flowering vines is one deserving of particular notice. Each flower is composed of six leaves about three inches in length, of beautiful crimson, the inside spotted with white. Its leaves of fine green are oval, and disposed by threes. This plant grows upon the trees without attaching itself to them. When it has reached the topmost branches, it descends perpendicularly, and, as it continues to grow, extends from tree to tree, until its various stalks interlace the grove like the rigging of a ship. Nature from the storm shines out afresh. Not even a philosopher can endure the toothache patiently. There never yet were hearts or skies, clouds might not wander through. Chaucer said, "If a man's soul is in his pocket, he should be punished there." She was uncommonly beautiful. He is poor in money, but rich in knowledge. 'Be quick to hear, but slow to past-too bright, too beautiful to last. my childhood! That father, faint in speak. The visions of my youth are How dear to my heart are the scenes of death below, his voice no longer heard. Wise in council and brave in war, he soon became the most successful leader. 2. By an adjunct. "He has acted INCONSISTENTLY with his professions." Exercises. The adverbs, and by what modified :— It is very badly done. She studies most diligently. You can not come oo soon. He has written agreeably to your directions. When a dependent clause is abridged into a phrase, having a nominative absolute, the phrase retains the modifying sense of the clause. Some grammarians call such also independent phrases, though perhaps needlessly. |