XVII. CONJUNCTIONS

57. Notice the sentences,

Every pine and fir and hemlock wore ermine too dear for an earl. I stood and watched by the window.

The parts of the compound subject in the first sentence and of the compound predicate in the second are joined by the word and. This very common word has a use different from that of any word studied thus far; hence it is considered another part of speech. Because it is a joining word, it is called a conjunction.

There are many conjunctions besides and that we all have frequent occasion to use. Among these are nor, or, but, yet, therefore, so, and hence.

58. Conjunctions may join not only single words, such as nouns, verbs, pronouns, adjectives, and adverbs, but also phrases, and even whole sentences; as,

You may enter without money and without price.

The stiff rails were softened to swan's down,

And still fluttered down the snow.

59. Although the word but is commonly used as a conjunction, yet, in the sentence, "I work every day but Sunday," it is a preposition, and means except. What is its object? The great difference between a conjunction and a preposition is that a preposition always has an object, whereas a conjunction never has one.

Summary. A conjunction is a word that joins sentences or parts of sentences.

Exercise. Select all the conjunctions in the following sentences, and tell what they join:

1. Crow was ten years old now, and he was very black and polished and thin.

2. Mount St. Michael was not only strongly fortified, but it was well guarded by nature.

3. The horse neither switches his tail, nods his head, nor stamps his feet.

4. Thirty years later, the remnants of her wedding gowns, the blue silk, the black silk, the striped silk, and the plaid silk, were cut into diamonds and squares, and then pieced together lovingly and proudly into a patchwork quilt.

5. There are several steamboats which run up and down the Seine like omnibuses, and the charge to passengers is about two cents apiece.

6. After steaming for several hours over the smooth river and between these flat lowlands, we reach the city of Rotterdam.

7. These great ice streams are always moving slowly downwards; hence they carry off, year by year, the snow which falls upon the mountain above.

8. The stars danced overhead, and by his side the broad and shallow river ran over its stony bed with a loud but soothing murmur that filled all the air with entreaty.

9. The things that Mowgli did and saw and heard when he was wandering from one people to another, with or without his four companions, would make many stories.

10. I drove the cows home through the sweet ferns and down the rocky slopes.

11. The sucker's mouth is not formed for the gentle angleworm nor the delusive fly of the fisherman.

12. Our ancestors were very worthy people, but their wall papers were abominable.

13. The keeper of the lodgings did not supply meals to his guests; so we breakfasted at a small chophouse in a crooked street.

14. The Northmen had no compass; they must steer by the sun or by the stars, guess at their rate of sailing, and tell by that how many more days distant was their destination.

15. Through this silence and through this waste, where the sudden lights flapped and went out again, the sleigh and the two that pulled it crawled like things in a nightmare.

16. There may be times when you cannot find help, but there is no time when you cannot give help.

17.

Over the meadows and through the woods,

To grandfather's house we go.

18. The world has never had a good definition of the word liberty, and the American people are much in want of one.

XVIII. CLAUSES. SIMPLE SENTENCES

60. We have learned that a sentence must contain a subject and a predicate. We have another name for a combination of subject and predicate. We call it a clause.

61. When a sentence consists of but one clause, we call it a simple sentence; and we say that this clause is independent, because it can stand alone and make sense.

62. A simple sentence may have a compound subject or a compound predicate, or both, and yet so long as these subjects and predicates go together, we say that there is only one clause; as in the sentence, "The lion and the mouse helped each other and became friends."

Summary. A clause is any combination of subject and predicate.

An independent clause is one that can stand alone and make sense.

A simple sentence contains but one independent clause. A simple sentence may have a compound subject or a compound predicate, or both.

Exercise.

Analyze the following simple sentences:MODEL. Then a piece of mica, or a little pool, or even a highly polished leaf will flash like a heliograph.

This is a simple, declarative sentence.

The subject is a piece of mica, or a little pool, or even a highly polished leaf. The predicate is will flash like a heliograph then.

The subject is compound. The simple subjects are the nouns piece, pool, and leaf, which are joined by the conjunction or. Piece is modified by the prepositional phrase of mica and the adjective a. Pool, is modified by the adjectives little and a. Leaf is modified by the adjective element

highly polished, and the adjectives a and even. The base word of the adjective element is the adjective polished, which is modified by the adverb highly.

The simple predicate is will flash. It is modified by the prepositional phrase like a heliograph, and the adverb then.

1. Through three good months the valley was wrapped in cloud and soaking mist.

2. In the very heart of London stands the great Bank of England.

3. Would not any boy respond to the sweet invitation of those ripe berries?

4. A fool and his money are soon parted.

5. A large, warm tear splashed down on the program.

6. In the sunny days the sucker lies in the deep pools, by some big stone or near the bank.

7. The feeling of a boy towards pumpkin pie has never been properly considered.

8. Shall the adventures of the Peterkin family be published? 9. No healthy boy could long exist without numerous friends in the animal kingdom.

10. No sound of joy or sorrow was heard from either bank. 11. At length has come the bridal day of beauty and of strength. 12. On one hot summer morning a little cloud rose from the sea and floated lightly and happily across the blue sky.

13. Donkeys, horses, negroes of every age, size, and shade, carts, crates, sacks, barrels, and boxes are mingled in seemingly inextricable confusion.

14. In the midst of the wild confusion the voice of the Boots was heard.

15. Then he strolled across the pasture, between the black stumps, the blueberry patches, the tangles of wild raspberry; pushed softly through the fringe of wild cherry and young birch saplings, and crept silently under the branches of a low hemlock.

16. The moss was supported by solid earth or a framework of ancient tree roots.

17. Alas! with every blow of the chisel the brick crumbled at my feet.

18. A dish of apples and a pitcher of chilly cider were always served during the evening.

KIMBALL'S ENG. GRAM. 4

19. I sat down in the middle of the path and never stirred for a long time.

20. The mayor and other civic authorities in London came down to Greenwich in barges.

XIX. COMPOUND SENTENCES

63. We have seen that sentences may be joined together by conjunctions. When two or more independent clauses are joined together in this way, we say that the sentence is compound; as, "Coral reefs resemble great rock ledges, and vessels are often wrecked upon them."

64. The conjunctions most used in compound sentences are and, or, but, yet, therefore, and so.

as,

And shows that two clauses are in the same line of thought; "His eye was bright, and his face was ruddy.

Or shows a choice between two clauses; as, "You must work, or you must go hungry."

But and yet show a contrast; as, "I mailed the letter, but Uncle Joe never received it."

Therefore and so show that the second clause is a consequence of the first; as, "There are fires in the forests north of us, therefore the air is full of smoke."

65. Sometimes when the relation between clauses is perfectly evident, the conjunction is omitted; as, "I came; I saw; I conquered."

In order that the reader may have no doubt as to where a clause ends, it is usually followed by a comma, which speaks to the eye of the reader just as a pause speaks to the ear of the listener. When the clauses are long or the conjunction is omitted, a semicolon may be used instead of the comma.

Summary. A compound sentence contains two or more independent clauses.

The clauses of a compound sentence are separated from each other by a comma or a semicolon.