8. The rules of grammar derive their authority from good usage,—that is, from the customs or habits followed by educated speakers and writers.
ENGLISH GRAMMAR
PART ONE
THE PARTS OF SPEECH IN THE SENTENCE
Summary. The Sentence: Subject and Predicate; Kinds of Sentences.—Use of words in the Sentence: the Eight Parts of Speech; Infinitives and Participles.—Comparative Importance of the Parts of Speech in the Sentence: the Subject Noun (or Simple Subject); the Predicate Verb (or Simple Predicate); Compound Subject and Predicate.—Substitutes for the Parts of Speech: Phrases; Clauses; Compound and Complex Sentences.
THE SENTENCE
1. A sentence is a group of words which expresses a complete thought.
- Fire burns.
- Wolves howl.
- Rain is falling.
- Charles is courageous.
- Patient effort removes mountains.
- London is the largest city in the world.
- A man who respects himself should never condescend to use slovenly language.
Some of these sentences are short, expressing a very simple thought; others are comparatively long, because the thought is more complicated and therefore requires more words for its expression. But every one of them, whether short or long, is complete in itself. It comes to a definite end, and is followed by a full pause.
2. Every sentence, whether short or long, consists of two parts,—a subject and a predicate.