WORDS THAT ASSERT

27. After the primitive man had invented names for the things about him, probably his next step was to invent words of action. He very naturally wanted to tell what all of these various things did. So the words that tell what things do, the words of action, the words that assert, came into the language. A child follows much the same development. As you can readily observe, it first names the objects about it, then learns the words that tell what these objects do.

So the words that tell what things do, become the second class of words. These words we call verbs. The word verb, like the word noun, is taken into our language from the Latin. In Latin, the word verbum means the word; and the verb is practically the word in a sentence, for we cannot have a sentence without a verb. You may string a number of words together, but if you do not have an asserting word, you will not have a sentence.

Notice the following sentences:

In these sentences, the words work, fade, flies and blow, are the words used to assert or say something of the subject, hence they are the verbs in these sentences.

28. Sometimes it takes more than one word to express the action or make the assertion. Notice the following sentences:

In the first sentence it takes two words, are working, to make the assertion; in the second, three are required, has been studying. These groups of words are called verb phrases.

29. A verb is a word that asserts.

A verb phrase is a group of words used as a single verb.

The verb is perhaps the most difficult part of speech to master. It is not hard to find the verb in short sentences, but in longer sentences it is sometimes difficult.

For example:

We very easily see that shine, walk and strike are the verbs in these sentences. But let us add other words, as for example:

Now we are very apt to confuse the verb with the words which state how and why the action is performed, or the object towards which the action is directed. But in these sentences, shine and walks and strike are still the verbs, just as in the first sentences. The verb asserts the action; the other words merely give additional information about how or why or upon what the action is performed.

30. Another thing which makes it difficult for us to distinguish verbs in English is that the same word may be used both as a noun and as a verb; but always remember that words are separated into classes according to the work which they do. When a word is used as a name it is a noun; when it is used as an asserting word it is a verb. Note the following sentences:

In the first sentence play is a noun, the subject of the verb made. In the second sentence play is the verb, telling what the children do. Always classify words according to the work which they perform in the sentence. This will help you very much in finding your verb.

31. Then we have some verbs which do not assert action but express rather a connection or relation between the subject and some other word or words. For example:

In these sentences belongs and is are the verbs. Belongs asserts or shows the relation between the dog and the man. Is shows the relation between the girl and happy. If we simply say girl and happy, we do not show any connection between them or make any statement relating the two, but when we say, The girl is happy, we are asserting something, and the word is makes the assertion.

Or when we say, The girl was happy, or The girl will be or may be happy, in each of these cases, it is the verb or verb phrase was or will be or may be, that asserts or shows the relation between the subject girl and the descriptive word happy. You will observe that the verbs will be and may be are composed of more than one word and are verb phrases.

We will study the verb in succeeding lessons, but let us remember from this lesson that the word or group of words that makes the assertion in the sentence is the verb. Remember too that every sentence must contain a verb.

Get this basic principle firmly fixed in mind that what a word does decides what it is—to what part of speech it belongs, and that every class of words fulfills its own function in sentence building.

32. Remember:—

Every sentence must have a subject and a predicate.

Every sentence must express a complete thought.

Every sentence must contain a verb.

A noun is the name of something.

A verb is a word that asserts.

What a word does determines what it is.

Study carefully the following quotation. The verbs are printed in italics.

Slowly, painfully, proceeds the struggle of man against the power of Mammon. The past is written in tears and blood. The future is dim and unknown, but the final outcome of this world-wide struggle is not in doubt. Freedom will conquer slavery, truth will prevail over error, justice will triumph over injustice, the light will vanquish the darkness; and humanity will rise in the glory of universal brotherhood.—Warren.

Exercise 3

Underscore all verbs and verb phrases in the following quotation:

The Dream of Labor: Ours is not the cause of one class, of one sex, of one tribe, of one city, of one state, of one continent.

It is the wish for a better world where Man shall be Man; where the beast shall become subdued; where everything shall lead to complete development; where the good of each shall be bound up in the good of all; where all shall feel the sorrows of each and shall run to his rescue.

A glimpse of this ideal takes us into the Land of Promise, where peace and plenty shall reign supreme; where brothers shall no longer battle among themselves, but for one another; where the atmosphere shall be laden with love, the love that saves; where the hate that kills shall be unknown; where heart and brain shall work together and shall make life better and more complete; where the fullness of life shall be for all and where men and women shall be as happy at their work as little children at their play.

The mere glimpse into that land makes life worth living, makes work worth doing, makes dreams worth dreaming, gives us hope and faith—the faith we need in the labor for our cause, the faith which shall help us win.—Oscar Leonard.

Exercise 4

We have found that there are a number of words in English which may be used either as nouns or verbs, depending upon the function they serve in the sentence. In the following sentences underscore the nouns with a single line, the verbs with two lines:

  1. They man the boats.
  2. The man has a boat.
  3. The women pass this way.
  4. They held the pass for hours.
  5. Little children work in the mines.
  6. The work of the world is done by machinery today.
  7. The armies will cross the bridge.
  8. He built a cross of rude stones.
  9. The leopard cannot change its spots.
  10. We will force a change in the law.

Exercise 5

In the following poem, mark every noun and every verb and verb phrase. You will find the verb phrases in several places divided by the word not, as in I do not obey. Do obey is the verb phrase. We will learn to what part of speech not belongs a little later.

I DO NOT OBEY, I THINK.

"Captain, what do you think," I asked,

"Of the part your soldiers play?"

The Captain answered, "I do not think—

I do not think, I obey."

"Do you think your conscience was meant to die,

And your brains to rot away?"

The Captain answered, "I do not think—

I do not think, I obey."

"Do you think you should shoot a patriot down,

And help a tyrant slay?"

The Captain answered, "I do not think—

I do not think, I obey."

"Then if this is your soldier's code," I cried,

"You're a mean, unmanly crew;

And with all your feathers and gilt and braid,

I am more of a man than you;

"For whatever my lot on earth may be

And whether I swim or sink,

I can say with pride, 'I do not obey—

I do not obey, I think.'"

SPELLING

LESSON 2

The twenty-six letters in the English alphabet are divided into vowels and consonants. A vowel is a letter which represents a sound of the human voice but slightly interrupted by the vocal organs. The vowels are a, e, i, o and u. All of the remaining letters of the alphabet are consonants. A consonant is a letter which represents a sound of the human voice greatly obstructed by the vocal organs.

Consonant is from the Latin con, meaning with, and sono—I sound. So it means literally I sound with.

The consonants are produced by union of the breath with the vocal organs. The consonant sounds are so called because they are always "sounded with" a vowel; they are used only in combination with vowels in forming words or syllables.

In English a consonant alone never forms a word or a syllable. Sound the different consonants b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, x and z, by themselves and you will see how the sound of the breath is obstructed or changed by the use of the vocal organs—the lips, the tongue, the teeth, etc.—in making these various sounds.

W and y are sometimes vowels and sometimes consonants. W and y are vowels when they are used with another vowel representing a vowel sound as in awe, new, joy, eye, etc. Y is sometimes used as a vowel by itself as in by, cry, etc. W and y are consonants when they are used at the beginning of a syllable or before a vowel in the same syllable as in wine, twine, yield and year.

Look up the meaning of the words in this week's lesson. Master the spelling and use them in sentences of your own construction.

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

PLAIN ENGLISH

LESSON 3

Dear Comrade:

In this lesson we are taking up a short study of the different parts of speech. In later lessons we will study each part of speech more thoroughly but this lesson covers the ground quickly and briefly. It is sufficient, however, to form a basis for our understanding of the evolution of language.

You will see, as you study this lesson, how each part of speech has been added to meet a growing need. There are many, many thousand words in the English language, but they can all be grouped under these eight parts of speech, for they all answer in some way to one of these great needs.

The object in studying grammar, as in studying any other science, is not to fill one's mind with a great many unrelated facts—facts which may or may not prove useful to one hereafter. The object of all study is to develop one's power of observation and one's ability to think. Added to this must be the practical ability to make use of this knowledge. Here the study of grammar has an advantage over the study of every other science. It deals with words, something which we use every day.

You do not need any laboratory or expensive apparatus in order to study grammar. All that you need lies ready to your hand. And in addition to this the knowledge which you gain is something which is of practical use to every man and woman no matter what their work, no matter what their place or position in life may be.

Remember that dogmatism has no place in the study of grammar. "Grammarians are the guardians, not the authors, of language." We do not say, "You should say this or that, or you violate a rule of grammar," but we say "The common usage among those who use good English is thus and so." If we do not believe that the common usage is the best usage, then we follow the democratic method of seeking to change the common usage into that which we consider the more sensible way. Thus, those who advocate simplified spelling have not sought to pass a law whereby every one should be compelled to spell words exactly as they sound, but they have striven to influence our writers and people in general to use this more sensible way of spelling words.

So think while you study. Do not try to learn rules and formulas. See why the rules and formulas exist. Once having seen this you do not need to learn them—you know them already. The study of any language is an intellectual discipline of the highest order.

So apply yourself diligently to this most interesting study and you will see that the result of this application will affect your daily life in every particular.

Yours for Education,

THE PEOPLE'S COLLEGE.

WORDS ADDED TO NOUNS

33. When man began to invent words to express his ideas of the world in which he lived, we have found that probably the first need was that of names for the things about him. So we have nouns. The second need was of words to tell what these things do, and so we have verbs. But primitive man soon felt the need of other classes of words.

The objects about us are not all alike. For example, we have a word for man, but when we say man that is not sufficient to describe the many different kinds of men. There are tall men, short men, white men, black men, strong men, weak men, busy men, lazy men. There are all sorts of men in the world, and we need words by which we can describe these different types and also indicate which man we mean.

34. So we have a class of words which are called adjectives. Adjective is a word derived from the Latin. It comes from the Latin word ad, meaning to, and the Latin word jecto, which means to throw; hence an adjective is a word thrown to or added to a noun.

If you will stop to think for a moment, you will see that it is by their qualities that we know the things about us. Some men are strong, some are weak, some are tall, some are short. These qualities belong to different men. And we separate or group them into classes as they resemble each other or differ from one another in these qualities. Things are alike which have the same qualities; things are unlike whose qualities are different. Apples and oranges are alike in the fact that both are round, both are edible. They are unlike in the fact that one is red and one is yellow; one may be sour and the other sweet. So we separate them in our minds because of their different qualities; and we have a class of words, adjectives, which describe these various qualities.

35. We use adjectives for other purposes also. For example, when we say trees, we are not speaking of any particular trees, but of trees in general. But we may add certain adjectives which point out particular trees, as for example: these trees, or those trees, or eight trees or nine trees. These adjectives limit the trees of which we are speaking to the particular trees pointed out. They do not express any particular qualities of the trees like the adjectives tall or beautiful express, but they limit the use of the word trees in its application. So we have our definition of the adjective.

36. An adjective is a word added to a noun to qualify or limit its meaning.

Exercise 1

Underscore all of the adjectives in the following quotation. Notice also the nouns and verbs in this quotation.

Yet fearsome and terrible are all the footsteps of men upon the earth, for they either descend or climb.

They descend from little mounds and high peaks and lofty altitudes, through wide roads and narrow paths, down noble marble stairs and creaky stairs of wood—and some go down to the cellar, and some to the grave, and some down to the pits of shame and infamy, and still some to the glory of an unfathomable abyss where there is nothing but the staring, white, stony eye-balls of Destiny.

They descend and they climb, the fearful footsteps of men, and some limp, some drag, some speed, some trot, some run—they are quiet, slow, noisy, brisk, quick, feverish, mad, and most awful in their cadence to the ears of the one who stands still.

But of all the footsteps of men that either descend or climb, no footsteps are so fearsome and terrible as those that go straight on the dead level of a prison floor, from a yellow stone wall to a red iron gate.—From The Walker. Giovannitti.