THE COLLECTIONI passed the plate in church.There was a little silver, but the crisp bank-notes heaped themselves up high before me;And ever as the pile grew, the plate became warmer and warmer, until it fairly burned my fingers, and a smell of scorching flesh rose from it, and I perceived that some of the notes were beginning to smolder and curl, half-browned, at the edges.And then I saw through the smoke into the very substance of the money, and I beheld what it really was: I saw the stolen earnings of the poor, the wide margin of wages pared down to starvation;I saw the underpaid factory girl eking out her living on the street, and the over-worked child, and the suicide of the discharged miner; I saw the poisonous gases from great manufactories, spreading disease and death;I saw despair and drudgery filling the dram-shop; I saw rents screwed out of brother men for permission to live on God's land;I saw men shut out from the bosom of the earth and begging for the poor privilege to work, in vain, and becoming tramps and paupers and drunkards and lunatics, and crowding into almshouses, insane asylums and prisons;I saw ignorance and vice and crime growing rank in stifling, filthy slums;I saw shoddy cloth and adulterated food and lying goods of all kinds, cheapening men and women, and vulgarizing the world; I saw hideousness extending itself from coal-mine and foundry over forest and river and field;I saw money grabbed from fellow grabbers and swindled from fellow swindlers, and underneath the workman forever spinning it out of his vitals;I saw the laboring world, thin and pale and bent and care-worn and driven, pouring out this tribute from its toil and sweat into the laps of the richly dressed men and women in the pews, who only glanced at them to shrink from them with disgust;I saw all this, and the plate burned my fingers so that I had to hold it first in one hand and then in the other; and I was glad when the parson in his white robes took the smoking pile from me on the chancel steps and, turning about, lifted it up and laid it on the altar.It was an old-time altar, indeed, for it bore a burnt offering of flesh and blood—a sweet savor unto the Moloch whom these people worship with their daily round of human sacrifices.The shambles are in the temple as of yore, and the tables of the money-changers waiting to be overturned.—Ernest Crosby.
THE COLLECTION
I passed the plate in church.
There was a little silver, but the crisp bank-notes heaped themselves up high before me;
And ever as the pile grew, the plate became warmer and warmer, until it fairly burned my fingers, and a smell of scorching flesh rose from it, and I perceived that some of the notes were beginning to smolder and curl, half-browned, at the edges.
And then I saw through the smoke into the very substance of the money, and I beheld what it really was: I saw the stolen earnings of the poor, the wide margin of wages pared down to starvation;
I saw the underpaid factory girl eking out her living on the street, and the over-worked child, and the suicide of the discharged miner; I saw the poisonous gases from great manufactories, spreading disease and death;
I saw despair and drudgery filling the dram-shop; I saw rents screwed out of brother men for permission to live on God's land;
I saw men shut out from the bosom of the earth and begging for the poor privilege to work, in vain, and becoming tramps and paupers and drunkards and lunatics, and crowding into almshouses, insane asylums and prisons;
I saw ignorance and vice and crime growing rank in stifling, filthy slums;
I saw shoddy cloth and adulterated food and lying goods of all kinds, cheapening men and women, and vulgarizing the world; I saw hideousness extending itself from coal-mine and foundry over forest and river and field;
I saw money grabbed from fellow grabbers and swindled from fellow swindlers, and underneath the workman forever spinning it out of his vitals;
I saw the laboring world, thin and pale and bent and care-worn and driven, pouring out this tribute from its toil and sweat into the laps of the richly dressed men and women in the pews, who only glanced at them to shrink from them with disgust;
I saw all this, and the plate burned my fingers so that I had to hold it first in one hand and then in the other; and I was glad when the parson in his white robes took the smoking pile from me on the chancel steps and, turning about, lifted it up and laid it on the altar.
It was an old-time altar, indeed, for it bore a burnt offering of flesh and blood—a sweet savor unto the Moloch whom these people worship with their daily round of human sacrifices.
The shambles are in the temple as of yore, and the tables of the money-changers waiting to be overturned.
—Ernest Crosby.
There is a class of words having the sound of longe, represented by the diphthongie, and another class having the same sound represented byei. It is a matter of perplexity at times to determine whether one of these words should be spelled withieorei. Here is a little rhyme which you will find a valuable aid to the memory in spelling these words:
For example, in such words asdeceit,receiveandceiling, the spelling isei. On the other hand, when the diphthong is not preceded by the letterc, the spelling isie, as ingrief,field,siege, etc.
There are a few exceptions to this rule, such aseither,neither,leisure,seizeandweird. Most words, however, conform to the rule—when preceded byc,eishould be used; when preceded by any other letter,ie.
Observe that this rule applies only when there is a diphthong having the sound of longe. When the two letters do not have the sound of longe, as inancient, the rule does not apply.
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Dear Comrade:
We have been tracing the development of written speech in order that we might have a clearer understanding of our own language. We have found how our earliest ancestors communicated with each other by signs and an articulate speech that was probably a little better than that of some animals of today. They gradually developed this articulate speech and then began to have need for some form of written speech. That which distinguishes man from the animals primarily is his power to remember and to associate one idea with another. From this comes his ability to reason concerning the connection of these ideas. Without this power of associative memory we would not be able to reason. If you could not recall the things that happened yesterday and had not the power of imagination concerning the things that may happen tomorrow, your reasoning concerning today would not be above that of the animals.
So man soon found it necessary to have some way of recalling accurately, in a manner that he could depend upon, the things that happened yesterday and the day before and still farther back in time. So that his first step was the invention of simple aids to memory such as the knotted strings and tally sticks. Then he began to draw pictures of the objects about him which he could perceive by the five senses, the things which he could see and hear and touch and taste and smell.
But man, the Thinker, began to develop and he began to have ideas about things which he could not see and hear and touch and taste and smell. He began to think of abstract ideas such as light and darkness, love and hate, and if he was to have written speech he must have symbols which would express these ideas. So we have found that he used pictures of the things he perceived with his five senses to symbolize some of his abstract ideas, as for example; a picture of the sun and moon to represent light; the bee to symbolize industry; the ostrich feather to represent justice. But as his ideas began to develop you can readily see that in the course of time there were not enough symbols to go around and this sort of written speech became very confusing and very difficult to read.
Necessity is truly the mother of invention, and so this need of man forced him to invent something entirely new—something which had been undreamed of before. He began now to use pictures which were different in sense but the names of which had the same sound. You can find an example of this same thing on the Children's Puzzle Page in the rebus which is given for the children to solve. As for example: A picture of an eye, a saw, a boy, a swallow, a goose and a berry, and this would stand for the sentence, I saw a boy swallow a gooseberry.
Perhaps you have used the same idea in some guessing game where a mill, a walk and a key stands for Milwaukee. And so we have a newform of picture writing. Notice in this that an entirely new idea has entered in, for the picture may not stand for the whole word but may stand for one syllable of the word as in the example given above. The mill stands for one syllable, walk for another and key for another. This was a great step for it meant the division of the word into various sounds represented by the syllables.
What a new insight it gives us into life when we realize that not only our bodies but the environment in which we live, the machines with which we work and even the language which we use has been a product of man's own effort. Man has developed these things for himself through a constant and steady evolution. It makes us feel that we are part of one stupendous whole; we belong to the class which has done the work of the world and accomplished these mighty things. The same blood flows in us; the same power belongs to us. Truly, with this idea, we can stand erect and look the whole world in the face and demand the opportunity to live our own lives to the full.
Yours for Freedom,
THE PEOPLE'S COLLEGE.
279.We have just finished the study of adjectives and we have found that adjectives are words added to nouns to qualify or to limit their meaning. Without this class of words it would be impossible for us to express all of our ideas, for we would be at a loss to describe the objects about us. Adjectives enable us to name the qualities or tell the number of the objects with which we come in contact.
The verb, we have found, expresses the action of these objects; in other words, the verb tells what things do. So with adjectives and verbs we can describe the objects named by the nouns and tell what they do. For example, I may say,Men work. Here I have used simply a noun and a verb; then I may add various adjectives to this and say,Strong, industrious, ambitious men work. By the use of these adjectives, I have told you about the kind of men who work; but I have said nothing about the action expressed in the verbwork. I may want to tell youhowthey work andwhenthey work;wherethey work andhow much; in other words, describe fully the action expressed in the verbwork, so I say:
Words likebusily,hard,late,here,well,now,inside, andmore, showhow,when,whereandhow muchthe men work.
We could leave off these words and still have a sentence, since the other words make sense without them, but these words describe the action expressed in the verb.
Words used in this way are called adverbs because they are added to verbs to make our meaning more definite, very much as adjectives are added to nouns.
280.The word adverb means, literally,to the verb, and one would suppose from this name that the adverb was strictly a verb modifier, but an adverb is used to modify other words as well. An adverb may be used to modify an adjective; for example, we might say:The man was very busy.This lesson is too long.Hereveryandtooare added to the adjectivesbusyandlongto qualify their meaning.
281.You remember in the comparison of adjectives, we used the wordsmoreandmostto make the comparative and superlative degrees. Heremoreandmostare adverbs used with the adjectives to qualify their meaning. Adverbs used in this way will always answer the question,how much,how long, etc. In the sentence,The man is very busy,veryis used to answer the questionhowbusy. And in the sentence,The lesson is too long, the adverbtooanswers the questionhowlong.
An adverb is also added to another adverb sometimes to answer the questionhow. For example; we say,The man works very hard. Here the adverbhardtellshowthe man works andverymodifies the adverbhard, and answers the questionhow hard. So we have our definition of an adverb:
282.An adverb is a word that modifies the meaning of a verb, an adjective or another adverb.
Remember that adjectives are used only with nouns or pronouns, but the adverb may be used with a verb or an adjective or another adverb. You remember that we had in our first lesson, as the definition of a word, that,a word is a sign of an idea. The idea is a part of a complete thought. See how all of these various words represent ideas, and each does its part to help us express our thoughts.
283.We need not have much difficulty in always being able to tell which words in a sentence are adverbs, for they will always answer one of the following questions:How?When?Where?Why?How long?How often?How much?How far?orHow little?etc. Just ask one of these questions and the word that answers it is the adverb in your sentence. Take the following sentence:
The wordalwaysanswers the questionwhen. Soalwaysis an adverb, describing the time of the action expressed in the verbcame—Healwayscame.Downanswers the questionwhere. Sodownis the adverb describing theplaceof the action.Rapidlyanswers the questionhow, and is the adverb describing themannerof the action.Tooalso answers the questionhow, and modifies the adverbrapidly.
Underscore the adverbs in the following sentences and tell which word they modify:
Use the following adverbs in sentences to modify verbs:
Use the following adverbs in sentences to modify adjectives:
Use the following adverbs in sentences to modify adverbs:
284.There are a good many adverbs in our language, yet they may be divided, according to their meaning, into six principal classes:
1. Adverbs of time.These answer the questionwhen, and are such adverbs asnow,then,soon,never,always, etc.
2. Adverbs of place.These answer the questionwhere, and are such adverbs ashere,there,yonder,down,above,below, etc.
3. Adverbs of manner.These answer the questionhow, and are such adverbs aswell,ill,thus,so,slowly,hastily, etc.
4. Adverbs of degree.These answer the questionshow much,how little,how far, etc., and are such adverbs asmuch,very,almost,scarcely,hardly,more,quite,little, etc.
5. Adverbs of cause.These answer the questionwhy, and are such adverbs astherefore,accordingly,hence, etc.
6. Adverbs of number.These are such adverbs asfirst,second,third, etc.
In the following sentences there are adverbs of each class used. Find the adverbs of the different classes.
285.The adverbshow,when,where,why,whither,whence, etc., are used in asking questions, and when they are used in this way they are called interrogative adverbs. For example:
These adverbs,how,when,where,why,whenceandwhither, are used in these sentences to modify the verbs and ask the questions concerning thetimeorplaceormannerof action expressed in the verb.
Howmay also be used as an interrogative adverb modifying an adjective or another adverb. For example:
In the first sentence, the adverbhowmodifies the adverblate, and introduces the question. In the second sentencehowmodifies the adjectivelargeand introduces the question.
Write sentences containing the interrogative adverbshow,when,whereandwhy, to modify verbs and ask simple questions.
Write sentences using the interrogative adverbhowto modify an adjective and an adverb and to introduce a question.
286.There are some adverbs which scarcely fall into any of the above classes and cannot be said to answer any of these questions. They are such adverbs asindeed,certainly,fairly,truly,surely,perhapsandpossibly. These adverbs really modify the entire sentence, in a way, and are used to show how the statement is made,—whether in a positive or negative way or in a doubtful way. For example:
Here, these adverbs,truly,surely,perhapsandindeed, show the manner in which the entire statement is made; so they have been put in a class by themselves and calledadverbs of mode.Modemeans literallymanner, but these are not adverbs that express manner of action, likeslowlyorwiselyorwellorill. They express rather the manner in which the entire statement is made, and so really modify the whole sentence.
287.We have certain little phrases which we have used so often that they have come to be used and regarded as single adverbs. They are such phrases asof course,of late,for good,of old,at all,at length,by and by,over and over,again and again,through and through,hand in hand,ere long,in vain,to and fro,up and down,as usual,by far,at last,at least,in general,in short, etc. These words which we find used so often in these phrases we may count as single adverbs.
288.Sometimes the same word may be used either as an adjective or as an adverb, and you may have some difficulty in telling whether it is an adjective or an adverb. Some of these words are:better,little,late,far,hard,further,first,last,long,short,much,moreandhigh. For example:
In the first sentence, the wordlateis used as an adjective modifying the nounnews. In the second sentence, the wordlateis used as an adverb to modify the verbcame.
289.You can always distinguish between adjectives and adverbs by this rule: Adjectives modifyonly nounsandpronouns, and the one essential characteristic of the adverb, as a limiting word, is that it isalwaysjoined to some other part of speech than a noun. An adverb may modify a verb, adjective or other adverb, but never a noun or pronoun.
You recall the rule which we have made the very foundation of our study: namely, that every word is classified in the sentence according to theworkwhich it does in that sentence. So a word is an adjective when it limits or modifies or qualifies a noun or pronoun; a word is an adverb when it qualifies any part of speech other than a noun or pronoun, either a verb or an adjective or an adverb, or even an entire sentence, as is the case with adverbs of mode.
290.Many adverbs are regularly made from nouns and adjectives by prefixes and suffixes. Adverbs are made from adjectives chiefly by adding the suffixly, or by changingbletobly. For example:honestly,rarely,dearly,ably,nobly,feebly. But all words that end inlyare not adverbs. Some adjectives end inlyalso, as,kingly,courtly, etc. The only way we can determine to which class a word belongs is by its use in the sentence.
In the following sentences, tell whether the words printed in italics are used as adjectives or as adverbs: also note the words ending inly. Some are adverbs and some adjectives.
291.Words that are ordinarily used as nouns, are sometimes used as adverbs. These are the nouns that denote time, distance, measure of value or direction. They are added to verbs and adjectives to denote the definite time at which a thing took place, or to denote the extent of time or distance and the measure of value, of weight, number or age. They are sometimes used to indicate direction. For example:
In these sentences, the nouns,year,miles,hour,foot,week,poundsandsouthare used as adverbs. Remember every word is classified according to the work which it does in the sentence.
Mark the adverbs in the following poem and determine what words they modify:
THE BRIDGE OF SIGHSOne more UnfortunateWeary of breath,Rashly importunate,Gone to her death!Take her up tenderly,Lift her with care;Fashion'd so slenderly,Young, and so fair!Look at her garmentsClinging like cerements;Whilst the wave constantlyDrips from her clothing;Take her up instantly,Loving, not loathing.Touch her not scornfully;Think of her mournfully,Gently and humanly;Not of the stains of her—All that remains of herNow is pure womanly.Make no deep scrutinyInto her mutinyRash and undutiful;Past all dishonor,Death has left on herOnly the beautiful.* * * * * * *Alas! for the rarityOf Christian charityUnder the sun!O! it was pitiful!Near a whole city full,Home, she had none.* * * * * * *The bleak wind of MarchMade her tremble and shiver;But not the dark arch,Or the black flowing river:Mad from life's historyGlad to death's mysterySwift to be hurled—Anywhere, anywhereOut of the world!In she plunged boldly,No matter how coldlyThe rough river ran;Over the brink of it,—Picture it, think of it,Dissolute Man!Lave in it, drink of it,Then, if you can!Take her up tenderly,Lift her with care;Fashion'd so slenderly,Young and so fair!Ere her limbs frigidlyStiffen too rigidly,Decently, kindly,Smooth and compose them;And her eyes, close them,Staring so blindly!Dreadfully staringThro' muddy impurity,As when with the daringLast look of despairingFix'd on futurity.Perishing gloomily,Spurr'd by contumely,Cold inhumanity,Burning insanity,Into her rest.Cross her hands humblyAs if praying dumbly,Over her breast!Owning her weakness,Her evil behavior,And leaving, with meekness,Her sins to her Saviour!—Thomas Hood.
THE BRIDGE OF SIGHS
One more UnfortunateWeary of breath,Rashly importunate,Gone to her death!
One more Unfortunate
Weary of breath,
Rashly importunate,
Gone to her death!
Take her up tenderly,Lift her with care;Fashion'd so slenderly,Young, and so fair!
Take her up tenderly,
Lift her with care;
Fashion'd so slenderly,
Young, and so fair!
Look at her garmentsClinging like cerements;Whilst the wave constantlyDrips from her clothing;Take her up instantly,Loving, not loathing.
Look at her garments
Clinging like cerements;
Whilst the wave constantly
Drips from her clothing;
Take her up instantly,
Loving, not loathing.
Touch her not scornfully;Think of her mournfully,Gently and humanly;Not of the stains of her—All that remains of herNow is pure womanly.
Touch her not scornfully;
Think of her mournfully,
Gently and humanly;
Not of the stains of her—
All that remains of her
Now is pure womanly.
Make no deep scrutinyInto her mutinyRash and undutiful;Past all dishonor,Death has left on herOnly the beautiful.
Make no deep scrutiny
Into her mutiny
Rash and undutiful;
Past all dishonor,
Death has left on her
Only the beautiful.
* * * * * * *
Alas! for the rarityOf Christian charityUnder the sun!O! it was pitiful!Near a whole city full,Home, she had none.
Alas! for the rarity
Of Christian charity
Under the sun!
O! it was pitiful!
Near a whole city full,
Home, she had none.
* * * * * * *
The bleak wind of MarchMade her tremble and shiver;But not the dark arch,Or the black flowing river:Mad from life's historyGlad to death's mysterySwift to be hurled—Anywhere, anywhereOut of the world!
The bleak wind of March
Made her tremble and shiver;
But not the dark arch,
Or the black flowing river:
Mad from life's history
Glad to death's mystery
Swift to be hurled—
Anywhere, anywhere
Out of the world!
In she plunged boldly,No matter how coldlyThe rough river ran;Over the brink of it,—Picture it, think of it,Dissolute Man!Lave in it, drink of it,Then, if you can!
In she plunged boldly,
No matter how coldly
The rough river ran;
Over the brink of it,—
Picture it, think of it,
Dissolute Man!
Lave in it, drink of it,
Then, if you can!
Take her up tenderly,Lift her with care;Fashion'd so slenderly,Young and so fair!
Take her up tenderly,
Lift her with care;
Fashion'd so slenderly,
Young and so fair!
Ere her limbs frigidlyStiffen too rigidly,Decently, kindly,Smooth and compose them;And her eyes, close them,Staring so blindly!
Ere her limbs frigidly
Stiffen too rigidly,
Decently, kindly,
Smooth and compose them;
And her eyes, close them,
Staring so blindly!
Dreadfully staringThro' muddy impurity,As when with the daringLast look of despairingFix'd on futurity.
Dreadfully staring
Thro' muddy impurity,
As when with the daring
Last look of despairing
Fix'd on futurity.
Perishing gloomily,Spurr'd by contumely,Cold inhumanity,Burning insanity,Into her rest.Cross her hands humblyAs if praying dumbly,Over her breast!
Perishing gloomily,
Spurr'd by contumely,
Cold inhumanity,
Burning insanity,
Into her rest.
Cross her hands humbly
As if praying dumbly,
Over her breast!
Owning her weakness,Her evil behavior,And leaving, with meekness,Her sins to her Saviour!
Owning her weakness,
Her evil behavior,
And leaving, with meekness,
Her sins to her Saviour!
The English language is truly a melting pot, into which have been thrown words from almost every language under the sun. This makes our spelling very confusing many times. Because of this also, we have in our language, words which have the same sound but different meaning, having come into the language from different sources. These words are calledhomonyms.
Homonyms are words having the same sound but different meaning.For example:
Synonyms are words which have the same meaning. For example:
Our spelling lesson for this week contains a list of most of the commonly used homonyms. Look up the meaning in the dictionary and use them correctly in sentences. You will note that in some instances there are three different words which have the same sound, but different meanings.
Notice especiallyprincipalandprinciple. Perhaps there are no two words which we use frequently which are so confused in their spelling.Principleis a noun.Principalis an adjective. You can remember the correct spelling by remembering thatadjectivebegins witha.Principal, the adjective, is spelled with ana,pal.
Notice also the distinction betweentwo,toandtoo. Look these up carefully, for mistakes are very often made in the use of these three words. Also notice the wordsnoandknowandhereandhear.
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Dear Comrade:
We are finishing in this lesson the study of a very important part of speech. Adverbs are a necessary part of our vocabulary, and most of us need a greater supply than we at present possess. We usually have a few adverbs and adjectives in our vocabulary which are continually overworked. Add a few new ones to your vocabulary this week.
Do not slight the exercises in these lessons. The study of the lesson is only the beginning of the theoretical knowledge. You do not really know a thing until you put it into practice. You may take a correspondence course on how to run an automobile but you can not really know how to run a machine until you have had the practical experience. There is only one way to become expert in the use of words and that is to use them. Every day try to talk to some one who thinks and reads. While talking watch their language and your own. When a word is used that you do not fully understand, look it up at your very first opportunity and if you like the word use it a number of times until it has become your word.
We have been following in these letters, which are our weekly talks together, the development of the alphabet. It is really a wonderful story. It brings to us most vividly the struggle of the men of the past. Last week we found how they began to use symbols to express syllables, parts of a word. We found that this was a great step in advance. Do you not see that this was not an eye picture but an ear picture? The symbol did not stand for the picture of the object it named but each symbol stood for the sound which composed part of the word.
After a while it dawned upon some one that all the words which man used were expressed by just a few sounds. We do not know just when this happened but we do know that it was a wonderful step in advance. Cumbersome pictures and symbols could be done away with now. The same idea could be expressed by a few signs which represented the few sounds which were used over and over again in all words. Let us not fail to realize what a great step in advance this was. These symbols represented sounds. The appeal was through theear gateof man, not through theeye gate.
Thus came about the birth of the alphabet, one of the greatest and most momentous triumphs of the human mind. Because of this discovery, we can now form thousands of combinations expressing all our ideas with only twenty-three or twenty-four symbols,—letters that represent sounds. Since we have at our command all of this rich fund of words, let us not be content to possess only a few for ourselves. Add a word daily to your vocabulary and you will soon be surprised at the ease and fluency of your spoken and written speech; and with this fluency in speech will come added power in every part of your life.
Yours for Education,
THE PEOPLE'S COLLEGE.
292.You will recall that we found that adjectives change in form to show different degrees of quality. A few adverbs are compared the same as adjectives. Some form the comparative and superlative degree in the regular way, just as adjectives, by addingerandest; for example:
293.Most adverbs form their comparative and superlative by the use ofmoreandmostorlessandleast, just as adjectives do; for example:
Or, in the descending comparison:
294.The following adverbs are compared irregularly. It would be well to memorize this list:
Some adverbs are incapable of comparison, ashere,there,now,today,hence,therefore, etc.
In the following sentences mark which adverbs are used in the positive, which in the comparative and which in the superlative degree:
295.When we use an adverb with an adjective or other adverb, we usually place the adverb before the adjective or adverb which it modifies. For example:
When we use an adverb with the simple form of the verb, (that is, either the present or past time form or any time form in which we do not need to use a phrase), if the verb is a complete verb, we place the adverb after the verb. For example:
But when the verb is an incomplete verb used in the simple form, the adverb usually precedes it in order not to come between the verb and its object. As, for example:
When the object of the incomplete verb is short, then the adverb is sometimes placed after the object. As, for example:
The object is more closely connected with the verb and so is placed nearer the verb. However, when the object is modified by a phrase the adverb is sometimes placed immediately after the verb, as:
When we use an adverb with a verb phrase, we usually place the adverb after the first word in the verb phrase. For example:
When the verb is in the passive form the adverb immediately precedes the principal verb, as for example:
When an adverb of time and an adverb of manner or place are used to modify the same verb, the adverb of time is placed first and the adverb of manner or place second, as for example:
If the sentence contains adverbs of time, of place, and of manner; the adverb of time should come first; of place, second; and of manner, third; as:
Improve the location of the adverbs in the following sentences and observe how the change of place of the adverb may alter the meaning of the sentence:
296.You remember when we studied the infinitive in Lesson 9, we found that it was not good usage to split the infinitive; that is, to put the modifying word betweentoand the verb. For example:We ought to bravely stand for our rights. The correct form of this is:We ought to stand bravely for our rights.
But we have found, also, that common usage breaks down the old rules and makes new rules and laws for itself, and so we frequently find the adverb placed between the infinitive and its sign.
Sometimes it seems difficult to express our meaning accurately in any other way; for example, when we say:To almost succeed is not enough, we do not make the statement as forceful or as nearly expressive of our real idea, if we try to put the adverbalmostin any other position. This is also true in such phrases asto far exceed,to more than counterbalance,to fully appreciate, and various other examples which you will readily find in your reading. The purpose of written and spoken language is to express our ideas adequately and accurately.
So we place our words in sentences to fulfill this purpose and not according to any stereotyped rule of grammarians. Ordinarily, though, it would be best not to place the adverb between the infinitive verb and its signto. Do not split the infinitive unless by so doing you express your idea more accurately.
297.The position in the sentence of such adverbs as,only,alsoandmerely, depends upon the meaning to be conveyed. The place where these adverbs occur in the sentences, may completely alter the meaning of the sentence. For example:
Only the address can be written on this side.We mean that nothing but the address can be written on this side.
The address can only be written on this side.We mean that the address cannot be printed, but must be written.
The address can be written only on this side.We mean that it cannot be written on any other side, but on this side only.
So you see that the place in which the adverb appears in the sentence depends upon the meaning to be conveyed and the adverb should be placed in the sentence so as to convey the meaning intended.
Never use an adjective for an adverb.One common error is using an adjective for an adverb. Remember that adjectives modify nouns only. Whenever you use a word to modify a verb, adjective or another adverb, use an adverb. For example,He speaks slow and plain. This is incorrect. The sentence should be,He speaks slowly and plainly. Watch this carefully. It is a very common error.
Another very common error is that of using an adverb instead of an adjective with the copulative verb.Never use an adverb in place of an adjective to complete a copulative verb. When a verb asserts an action on the part of the subject, the qualifying word that follows the verb is an adverb. For example, you would say:
Here we use anadjectivein the predicate, for we are describing the appearance of the sea, no action is expressed. But if we say:He spoke calmly, we use the adverbcalmly, for the verbspokeexpresses an action on the part of the subject, and the adverbcalmlydescribes that action,it tells how he spoke. So we say:The water looks clear, but,We see clearly.She appears truthful.They answered truthfully.She looked sweet.She smiled sweetly.
With all forms of the verbbe, asam,is,are,was,were,have been,has been,will be, etc., use an adjective in the predicate; as,He is glad.I am happy.They were eager.They will be sad.Use an adjective in the predicate with verbs likelook,smell,taste,feel,appearandseem. For example:He looks bad.It smells good.The candy tastes sweet.The man feels fine today.She appears anxious.He seems weary.
Never use two negative words in the same sentence.The second negative destroys the first and we really make an affirmative statement. The two negatives neutralize each other and spoil the meaning of the sentence. For example, never say:
In all of these sentences we have used more than one negative;notandno, ornotandnothing, orneverandno, orneverandnothing. Never use these double negatives. The correct forms of these sentences are:
Where to place the negative adverb, not.In English we do not use the negative adverbnotwith the common verb form, but when we usenotin a sentence, we use the auxiliarydo. For example, we do not say:
Only in poetry do we use such expressions as these. In ordinary English, we say:
We often usehereandthereincorrectly after the wordsthisandthat.We often usehereandthereincorrectly after the wordsthisandthat.] For example, we say:
This should be:This lesson is shorter than that one.
These sentences should read:
Never usehereandtherein this manner.
Another common mistake is usingmostforalmost.
For example, we say:
These sentences should read:
Mostis the superlative degree ofmuch, and should be used only in that meaning.
We often use the adjectiverealin place ofveryorquite,to modify an adverb or an adjective.
For example, we say:
Say instead:
Reallyis the adverb form of the adjectivereal. You might have said:
But never userealwhen you meanveryorquiteorreally.
We use the adjectivesomemany times when we should use the adverbsomewhat. For example, we say:
What we intended to say was:
Do not usewhat forwhen you meanwhy. Do not say:
Or worse still,
Say:
Do not useworsein place ofmore. Do not say:
Say:
Observe the distinction between the wordsfurtherandfarther. Farther always refers to distance, or extent. For example:
Further means more. For example:
Never usegoodas an adverb.Goodis always an adjective.Wellis the adverb form.Goodandwellare compared in the same way,good,better,best, andwell,better,best. Sobetterandbestcan be used either as adjectives or adverbs; butgoodis always an adjective. Do not say,He talks good. Say,He talks well. Note thatillis both an adjective and an adverb and thatillyis always incorrect.
Correct the adverbs in the following sentences. All but two of these sentences are wrong.
298.Like adjectives it is better to use adverbs sparingly. This is especially true of the adverbs used to intensify our meaning. Do not use the adverbs,very,awfully, etc., with every other word. It makes our speech sound like that of a gushing school girl, to whom everything isvery, awfully sweet. More than that, it does not leave us any words to use when we really want to be intense in speech. Save these words until the right occasion comes to use them.
Adverbs should always be placed where there can be no doubt as to what they are intended to modify. A mistake in placing the adverb in the sentence often alters the meaning of the sentence. Choose the right word in each of the following sentences:
In our study of adjectives we have found that we use them to express some quality possessed by a noun or pronoun which they modify. You will recall when we studied nouns, we had one class of nouns, called abstract nouns, which were the names of qualities. So we find that from these adjectives expressing quality we form nouns which we use as the name of that quality.
For example from the adjectivehappy, we form the nounhappiness, which is the name of the quality described by the adjectivehappy, by the addition of the suffixness. We use this suffixnessquite often in forming these derivative nouns from adjectives but there are other suffixes also which we use; as for example, the suffixtyas insecurity, formed from the adjectivesecure, changing theetoiand adding the suffixty. When the word ends intwe sometimes add onlyyas inhonesty, derived from the adjectivehonest.
You remember that an abstract noun may express not only quality but also action, considered apart from the actor; so abstract nouns may be made from verbs. For example:
Running, from the verbrun;settlement, from the verbsettle.
In our lesson for this week the list for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday contains adjectives of quality from which abstract nouns expressing quality can be made, by the addition of the proper suffix, eitherness,y,tyortion. The list for Thursday, Friday and Saturday consists of verbs from which abstract nouns can be made by the addition of the suffixesmentanding.
Make from each adjective and verb in this week's lesson an abstract noun by the addition of the proper suffix. Be able to distinguish between the use of the qualifying adjective and the noun expressing quality.
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Dear Comrade:
Last week we finished the study of adverbs and we found that they were a very important part of our vocabulary, and that most of us needed a greater supply than we at present possess. This is true of both adverbs and adjectives. While we do not use as many adverbs as adjectives in our ordinary speech, nevertheless, adverbs are a very important factor in expression. A great many adjectives can be readily turned into adverbs. They are adjectives when they are used to describe a noun, but by the addition of a suffix, they become adverbs used to describe the action expressed by the verb. So in adding to our stock of adjectives we also add adverbs to our vocabulary as well.
Watch your speech this week and make a list of the adverbs which you use most commonly, then go to your dictionary and see if you cannot find synonyms for these adverbs. Try using these synonyms for awhile and give the adverbs which you have been using for so long, a well earned rest. Remember that our vocabulary, and the power to use it, is like our muscles, it can only grow and develop by exercise.
The best exercise which you can possibly find for this purpose is conversation. We spend much more time in talking than in reading or in writing. Conversation is an inexpensive pleasure and it does not even require leisure always, for we can talk as we work; yet our conversation can become a great source of inspiration and of influence as well as a pleasant pastime. But do not spend your time in vapid and unprofitable conversation. Surely there is some one in the list of your acquaintances who would like to talk of things worth while. Hunt up this some one and spend some portion of your day in profitable conversation.
Remember also that a limited vocabulary means also a limited mental development. Did you ever stop to think that when we think clearly we think in words? Our thinking capacity is limited, unless we have the words to follow our ideas out to their logical conclusions.
This matter of vocabulary is a matter, too, that is exceedingly practical. It means success or failure to us in the work which we would like to do in the world. A command of words means added power and efficiency; it means the power to control, or at least affect, our environment; it means the power over men and things; it means the difference between being people of ability and influence and being obscure, inefficient members of society.
So feel when you are spending your time in increasing your vocabulary that you are not only adding to your enjoyment of life but that you are doing yourself the best practical turn; you are increasing your efficiency in putting yourself in a position where you can make your influence felt upon the people and circumstances about you. This effort upon your part will bear practical fruit in your every day life.
Yours for Education,
THE PEOPLE'S COLLEGE.
299.We have studied about the independent parts of speech, that is, the nouns and pronouns and verbs. These are independent because with them we can form sentences without the help of other words. And these are the only three parts of speech which are so independent—with which we can form complete sentences. Then we have studied also the words that modify,—that is, the words that are used with nouns and pronouns and verbs to describe and explain more fully the ideas which they express. So we have studied adjectives, which modify nouns and pronouns; and adverbs, which modify verbs or adjectives or other adverbs.
300.The adjectives and adverbs which we have studied thus far are single words; but we find that we may use little groups of words in about the same way, to express the same idea which we have expressed in the single adjective or adverb. For example, we may say:
These groups of words like,of strength,from the city,without jobs, andwith money, express the same ideas that are expressed in the single adjectives,strong,city,joblessandmoneyed.
You recall that we defined any group of words used as a single word as aphrase; so these groups of words are phrases which are used as adjectives. The phrase,of strength, modifies the nounmen, just as the adjectivestrongmodifies the nounmen. So we may call these phrases which modify nouns, or which may be used to modify pronouns also,adjective phrases, for they are groups of words used as adjectives.
Change the adjectives which are printed in italics in the following sentences into phrases:
301.These phrases may be used in the place of single adverbs also. You remember an adverb is a word that modifies a verb or an adjective or another adverb. Let us see if we can not use a phrase or a group of words in the place of a single adverb. For example:
In these sentencesrapidly,nowandhereare single adverbs modifying the verbwork. The phrases,with rapidity,at this time, andat this place, express practically the same ideas, conveyed by the single adverbs,rapidly,nowandhere. These phrases modify the verb in exactly the same manner as the single adverbs. Therefore we call these groups of words used as single adverbs,adverb phrases.
We also use adverbs to modify adjectives. Let us see if we can use adverb phrases in the same way:
In the sentences above, the adverbexcessivelymodifies the adjectiverich; the same meaning is expressed in the adverb phrase,to excess. In the sentence,He is bodily perfect, but mentally weak, the adverbbodilymodifies the adjectiveperfectand the adverbmentallymodifies the adjectiveweak. In the last sentence, the same meaning is expressed by the adverb phrases,in bodyandin mind. These phrases modify the adjectivesperfectandweak, just as do the single adverbsbodilyandmentally.
302.We can use a phrase in the place of almost any adverb or adjective. It very often happens, however, that there is no adjective or adverb which we can use to exactly express our meaning and we are forced to use a phrase. For example:
It is impossible to find single words that express the meaning of these phrases,by the river,on the train,to the city, andfrom the country. You could not say theriver house; that is not what you mean. You mean the large houseby the river, yet the phraseby the rivermodifies and describes the house quite as much as the adjectivelarge. It is an adjective phrase used to modify the nounhouse, yet it would be impossible to express its meaning in a single word.
Which phrases in the following sentences are used as adjectives and which phrases are used as adverbs?
Change these phrases to adjectives or adverbs, if you can think of any that express the same meaning.
Use a phrase instead of the adjective or adverb in the following sentences: