EXAMPLES.

  1. Will you meet me at the depot′? Yes`; or, I will`.
  2. Did you intend to visit Boston′? No`; or, I did not`.
  3. Can you explain this difficult sentence′? Yes`; I can.
  4. Are they willing to remain at home′? They are`.
  5. Is this a time for imbecility and inaction′? By no means`.
  6. King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets′? I know that thou believest`.
  7. Were the tribes of this country, when first discovered, making any progress in arts and civilization′? By no means`.
  8. To purchase heaven has gold the power′?
    Can gold remove the mortal hour′?
    In life, can love be bought with gold′?
    Are friendship's pleasures to be sold′?
    No`; all that's worth a wish, a thought,
    Fair virtue gives unbribed, unbought.
  9. What would content you`? Talents′? No`. Enterprise′? No`. Courage′? No`. Reputation'? No`. Virtue′? No`. The man whom you would select, should possess not one, but all of these`.

NOTE I.—When the direct question becomes an appeal, and the reply to it is anticipated, it takes the intense falling inflection.

EXAMPLES.

  1. Is` he not a bold and eloquent speaker`?
  2. Can` such inconsistent measures be adopted`?
  3. Did` you ever hear of such cruel barbarities`?
  4. Is this reason`? Is` it law`? Is it humanity`?
  5. Was` not the gentleman's argument conclusive`?

RULE II.

Indirect questions, or those which can not be answered by yes or no, usually take the falling inflection, and their answers the same.

  1. How far did you travel yesterday`? Forty miles`.
  2. Which of you brought this beautiful bouquet`? Julia`.
  3. Where do you intend to spend the summer`? At Saratoga`.
  4. When will Charles graduate at college`? Next year`.
  5. What is one of the most delightful emotions of the heart`? Gratitude`.

NOTE I.—When the indirect question is one asking a repetition of what was not, at first, understood, it takes the rising inflection.

EXAMPLES.