Any sentence may have a compound subject, or a compound predicate, or both.

Exercise. Tell why the following sentences are declarative. Tell whether each has a compound subject, or a compound predicate, or both. Write each sentence, and draw a vertical line between subject and predicate. Underline the simple subjects, and tell what part of speech they are. Underline also the simple predicates, or predicate verbs. Account for the punctuation.

1. The oars dipped, arose, poised a moment, then dipped again, with winglike action, and in perfect time.

2. The eyes and mouths of the auditors opened wide.

3. This poor child became the scapegoat of the house, and was. blamed for everything.

4. The four cane-seated chairs, the walnut table, the haircloth sofa, and the little stand always spoke to me of my childhood days. 5. She took the key bravely, but opened with a trembling hand the door of the little room.

6. Such timber and such workmanship don't come together often in houses built nowadays.

7. Vast crowds of spectators lined the way, or gazed upon the scene from the housetops.

8. The rider then put his foot upon the camel's slender neck, and stepped upon the sand.

9. The laborers paused, sat up, wrung the water from their hands, and returned the salutation.

10. The statue of the Indian chief or the soldiers' monument in the public square was given to the city by one of the pioneers.

11. Spruce bachelors looked sidelong at the pretty maidens, and fancied that the Sabbath sunshine made them prettier than on week days.

12. Grandmothers, mothers, and aunts sat across the end of the hall.

13. He brought a carpet or square rug from the litter, and covered the floor of the tent on the side from the sun.

14. Children with bright faces tripped merrily beside their parents, or mimicked a graver gait in the conscious dignity of their Sunday clothes.

VII. TRANSPOSED SUBJECT AND PREDICATE

21. The sentences studied thus far have been arranged so that the subject comes first, then the predicate. This is called the natural order. Sometimes, for the sake of emphasis, we reverse this order, as in the sentence, "In a long shed behind the church stood a score of wagons and chaises and carryalls." This is called the transposed order.

Sometimes, for the sake of a pleasing arrangement, we put only a portion of the predicate before the subject, as in the sentence, "Over the highest peaks a vulture sailed on broad wings into widening circles." Here the subject is very short and the predicate very long. The sentence balances better with a portion of the predicate coming first. This also is a case of transposed order.

Summary. The natural order in a sentence is first the subject and then the predicate.

When the words of a sentence are not in their natural order, we say that the sentence is transposed.

Exercise 1.

Rearrange the following sentences so that they will be in the natural order, then proceed as you did with the sentences in the exercise on p. 21. Tell in each case whether you like the natural or the transposed order better, and why.

1. Around him, within hand's reach, lie osier boxes full of almonds, grapes, figs, and pomegranates.

2. This challenge Fortunatus accepted.

3. On traveled the lady and the bull through many dreadful forests and lonely wastes.

4. On that first Christmas morning in their own home, the children found their gifts in little piles on two of the parlor chairs.

5. Through the wide nostrils the camel drank the wind in great draughts.

6. Out of the wide hall could be heard in the stillness the old clock.

7. At full speed a genuine Syrian dromedary overtakes the ordinary winds.

8. Very hard Johnny worked on the house.

9. "Come in," said a warm, comfortable voice on the other side of the door.

11. In the garret meet together all the broken-down chairs of the household, all the spavined tables, all the seedy hats, all the intoxicated-looking boots, all the split walking sticks that have retired from business, "weary with the march of life.”

Account for the commas in sentences 10 and 11.

Exercise 2.

Change the following sentences to the transposed order. Tell why you like them better so.

1. Pussy walked along with a slow and deliberate gait directly behind my sister and me.

2. A red rose, a yellow rose, a woodbine, and a clematis grew up the four walls.

3. The roll of the drum was hushed at the old man's word and outstretched arm.

4. A mat of long, uncombed hair hangs over his eyes and face, and down his back.

5. The whole carpet came out right on my head.

6. A little rabbit sat on a bank one morning.

7. Daylight and safety were on the other side of that door.

8. The bird flew on and on, up the steep mountain.

9. A very amusing thing in this story comes now.

10. The remains of a great elephant have been found in the curious potholes near Cohoes, New York.

VIII.

INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES

22. Most of the sentences in books are declarative sentences, written to make statements, but in speech we frequently make use of another kind of sentence, one that asks a question; as, "Do you know how to tell a sheep's age?" This is called an interrogative sentence.

23. The interrogative sentence, "What dwarfs made that armor?" is in the natural order, but this is not the usual order in interrogative sentences. In the sentence, In the sentence, "Do you know how to tell a sheep's age?" we find first a part of the verb, then the subject, then the other part of the verb and the rest of the predicate. How would this sentence read if it were in the natural order? Would it then be an interrogative sentence?

NOTE.

Since an interrogative sentence does not make a statement, it may seem strange to define the verb in such a sentence as an asserting word, but in making definitions we must think of the fundamental nature and the typical use of what we are defining. The primary office of the verb is to assert, as in declarative sentences; hence, we define the verb as an asserting word, though it may also be used in asking questions.

Summary. An interrogative sentence is one that asks a question.

An interrogative sentence is usually in the transposed order, and is always followed by a question mark.

Exercise. Tell whether the following sentences are in the natural or the transposed order. Put into the natural order those which are transposed. Divide each sentence into subject and predicate. Select the simple subject and the predicate verb, or simple predicate.

1. Did you ever hear of a cat's playing hide and seek?

2. What became of you after the Princess's death?

3. Will no other diet serve you but poor Jack?

4. Which flower does your mother like best?

5. What harm can a naked frog do us?

6. Will the town crier tell us of an auction, or of a lost pocketbook, or of a show of beautiful wax figures, or of some monstrous beast more horrible than any in the caravan?

7. Why did no smile of welcome brighten upon his face? 8. What did Peterson-Sahib mean by the elephant dance? 9. How many people have ever come to know a wild animal?

10. What important business made you late to dinner?

11. What plant we in this apple tree?

12. What other man would have discovered so many virtues under so mean a dress?

13. What do people fish for in this country?

14.

Does that star-spangled banner yet wave

O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave?

15. Where did you get your eyes so blue?

16. Who will exchange old lamps for new ones?

17. What makes your cheek like a warm, white rose?

IX. ADJECTIVES

24. From the sentence, "The road led us to a gate, and that to a dooryard and a house," we get a picture, but it is neither definite nor attractive. Contrast it with the picture that we get from this sentence, "The pleasant, elm-shaded road led us to a rustic gate, and that to a green dooryard, and a long, low, brown house." The difference is caused by the descriptive words in the second sentence. Which words describe the road? the gate? the dooryard? the house?

These descriptive words go with nouns, and describe the object named by the noun. We call them adjectives. An adjective is a part of speech.

Adjectives are said to modify the nouns they go with, and are called modifiers.

25. Most adjectives describe objects by telling size, shape, color, texture, or other qualities. A few adjectives tell number or amount; as, five minutes, much patience. A few merely point out; as, this meadow, next Christmas. The words a, an, and the are adjectives.

26. When several adjectives modify the same noun, they form a series, and are usually separated from each other by commas; as, "A hollow, booming, ominous cry rang out