Punctuate and capitalize the following selections. For instructions as to paragraphing and the arrangement of conversation, see §§ 143 and 144:

  1. however father had told us not to expect good accommodations because it is a very small town
  2. tomorrow if it is a clear day we will go to pittsburgh
  3. will that be satisfactory was his question
  4. it doesnt make any difference said she whether you come or not
  5. whats the matter with you john
  6. john replied i mean that poem that begins the curfew tolls the knell of parting day
  7. and that day i was only a child then I travelled all alone to new york city
  8. he is a member at least he claims to be of the presbyterian church
  9. the author says that the hero of waterloo wellington was a general of great military training
  10. buddhist brahmin mohammedan christian jewish every religion was represented
  11. his letter will tell what he wants or will attempt to do so
  12. you will please hand in the following sentences one three seven and nine
  13. four presidents have been unitarians namely the two adams fillmore and taft
  14. the verse to which you refer is as follows
  15. the boast of heraldry the pomp of power
    all that beauty all that wealth eer gave
    await alike the inevitable hour
    the paths of glory lead but to the grave
  16. a noun is the name of something as william france book cat
  17. the train leaves at eight therefore we shall have to rise at seven at latest
  18. the different points discussed are these first the history of the divine right theory second the exponents of the theory and third the result of the theory
  19. in the first problem divide in the second multiply
  20. if the break is slight use a comma if it is more perceptible use a semicolon if it is very sharp use a period
  21. william if you gear me answer
  22. he told mother that he must go home at least that is what she understood
  23. as noise it is an undoubted success as music it is a flat failure
  24. that may be true but i still doubt it
  25. separate the clauses by a comma unless the connection be close
  26. even though that be true it does not prove what we want proved
  27. mary said yes but helen said no
  28. he is called the peerless leader
  29. such a man for example was lincoln
  30. if as you say it ought to be done why dont you do it
  31. that too is a mistake
  32. that is wool not cotton as you seem to think
  33. the english are stolid the french lively
  34. in that case let us have war
  35. such an opinion i may say is absurd
  36. alas when i had noticed my mistake it was too late
  37. the house which was built by smith is on the corner of a large lot
  38. he means the house that has green shutters
  39. those are all good books but none of them will do
  40. dickens wrote nicholas nickleby hugo les miserables thackeray henry esmond
  41. he is a good student and also a great athlete
  42. he gave me a red silk handkerchief
  43. having assigned the lesson he left the room
  44. royers address is danville illinois
  45. you will find it discussed in paragraphs one two and three
  46. i had classes under the president dr harris
  47. moreover naxon the cashier has fled
  48. oh that is what you mean is it
  49. for this you will need a piece of clean white paper
  50. the bible says the lord thy god is a jealous god
  51. the boundary of uncle sams lands is the rio grande river
  52. theodore roosevelt is not the only strenuous man in history
  53. the north quickly recovered from the civil war
  54. he told mother to write to my uncle about it
  55. he said then why are you here
  56. in that army old young and middle aged men served for their country could no longer raise a picked army
  57. he was told to ask the principal professor morton
  58. in the same town muncy lives smith now a respected man
  59. a peasant named ali according to a good old oriental story needing badly a donkey for some urgent work decided to apply to his neighbor mehmed whose donkey ali knew to be idle in the stable that day i am sorry my dear neighbor said mehmed in reply to alis request but i cannot please you my son took the donkey this morning to the next village i assure you insisted ali i shall take the very best care of him my dear neighbor can you not take my word demanded mehmed with a show of anger i tell you the donkey is out but at this point the donkey began to bray loudly there that is the donkey braying now well said the justly indignant mehmed if you would rather take my donkeys word than my word we can be friends no longer and under no circumstances can i lend you anything.
  60. a coroner was called upon to hold an inquest over the body of an italian the only witness was a small boy of the same nationality who spoke no english the examination proceeded thus where do you live my boy the boy shook his head do you speak english another shake of the head do you speak french another shake do you speak german still no answer how old are you no reply have you father and mother no reply do you speak italian the boy gave no sign well said the coroner i have questioned the witness in four languages and can get no answer it is useless to proceed the court is adjourned.

Note. Further exercise in punctuation may be had by copying without the marks of punctuation selections from books, and afterwards inserting the proper marks.

CHAPTER IX

THE PARAGRAPH

141. The Paragraph is a connected series of sentences all dealing with the development of a single topic. Where the general subject under discussion is very narrow, the paragraph may constitute the whole composition; but usually, it forms one of a number of subtopics, each dealing with some subdivision of the general subject. For each one of these subtopics a separate paragraph should be made.

The purpose of the paragraph is to aid the reader to comprehend the thought to be expressed. The paragraph groups in a logical way the different ideas to be communicated. It gives rest to the eye of the reader, and makes clearer the fact that there is a change of topic at each new paragraph.

142. Paragraph Length. There is no fixed rule governing the proper length of the paragraph, but, probably, no paragraph need be more than three hundred words in length. If the whole composition is not more than two hundred and fifty words in length, it will not often need to be subdivided into paragraphs. In a letter, paragraphing should be more frequent than in other compositions.

Paragraphing should not be too frequent. If paragraphing is too frequent, by making each minute subdivision of equal importance, it defeats its purpose of grouping ideas about some general topic.

143. Sometimes a sentence or even a part of a sentence may be set off as a separate paragraph in order to secure greater emphasis. This, however, is only using the paragraph for a proper purpose—to aid in gaining clearness.