MCFADDEN LANGUAGE SERIES

GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION

1. ORAL COMPOSITION

An Ax to Grind

When I was a little boy, I remember one cold winter's morning I was accosted by a smiling man with an ax on his shoulder. "My pretty boy," said he, “has your father a grindstone?"

"Yes, sir," said I.

"You are a fine little fellow," said he. "Will you let me grind my ax on it?"

Pleased with the compliment of fine little fellow, “Oh, yes, sir," I answered. "It is down in the shop.”

"And will you, my man," said he, patting me on the head, "get me a little hot water?"

How could I refuse? I ran and soon brought a kettleful. "How old are you and what's your name? I am sure you are one of the finest lads that ever I have seen,' continued he, without waiting for a reply. "Will you turn the grindstone a few minutes for me?"

Tickled with the flattery, like a little fool, I went to work and bitterly did I regret it. It was a new ax, and I toiled and tugged until I was almost tired to death. The school bell rang, and I could not get away. My hands were blistered and the ax was not half ground.

At length, however, it was sharpened. The man turned to me saying, "Now, you little rascal, you've played truant. Scud to school or you'll rue it!" "Alas!" thought I, "it was hard enough to turn a grindstone this

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cold day, but now to be called a rascal is too much." This experience I have never forgotten.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

Tell it as if it really several circumstances They must be told in

Be ready to tell this story before your class, standing firmly on both feet. happened to you. There are that lead to the final event. the right order to make the story worth listening to. There are several troublesome expressions, too. They are in italics. Study the story until you can tell it, using these expressions correctly.

To be able to tell a good story well is a valuable accomplishment in life. It is not at all difficult to do if you follow a few simple directions:

1. Study the story enough to be able to enter into the spirit of it.

2. Know the story well before attempting to tell it. Don't try to commit it to memory. Know what happened. Know also every detail that leads up to this point.

3. Tell the story with all your might, pronouncing each word clearly.

4. Do not connect your sentences with and-uh, but-uh, he-uh. You will not do so if you know your story well, and are interested in it.

5. Stand where you can see the people to whom you are telling the story. Do not lean against a desk or chair.

A LANGUAGE LESSON

A Sailing Trip

Once two boys went out for a sail in their new boat, "Queen." It was a beautiful day when they started. The

wind was just strong enough to fill the sails well, yet it did not keep them too busy to enjoy the trip. The morning passed pleasantly. When twelve o'clock came, they landed in a quiet cove for luncheon. The chicken sandwiches, cake, and fruit which their mothers had provided were greatly enjoyed.

After a long rest, they began to think of the cool water and the trip home. But there was little wind, and the prospects for more did not seem good. John lay down on the grass for another nap, confident that the afternoon breeze would soon spring up. Will walked slowly about, watching every tree for a sign of wind. He knew his mother would be very much worried if he were not home on time. Suddenly the looked-for breeze came. John was wakened and the boat was made ready. But the breeze died down as suddenly as it came, and the boys knew now that there would be no home-going that night.

There was no place to buy anything to eat or to get any shelter. They took the sail and fastened it to a tree with a piece of rope. This made a place to sleep. They ate sparingly of the remaining sandwiches and then lay down, hoping they would not have to stay there for a week.

They had been lying down only about two hours when they heard the sound of a motor boat passing by. In a minute both boys were up, shouting loudly. They hoped that those in the boat would hear. Suddenly the boat turned toward them, and soon it was within speaking distance. The boys told of their plight and asked to be towed in. Consent was readily given, and in a short time they were ready to go.

The boys arrived home in time to save their parents from a night of anxiety.

Study these words, in groups of three, for spelling:

Make sentences, using the words in italics. Study, for dictation, as much of the story as your teacher may assign.

When you have finished writing the story from dictation, open your book and correct your mistakes. At the end of the lesson you will find a list of the points upon which you are likely to make errors, and the number of times each point except spelling occurs in the exercise. Find how many errors you actually made, and compare your results with the book. Use this record of errors to show what part of your next written work needs to be more carefully studied.

3. THE PREDICATE AND SUBJECT

Every sentence may be divided into two parts. In the sentences that you will have first, one

part will tell what is done. This is called the predicate. The other part will name the doer. This is called the subject.

what is done.

what is done.

To find the predicate, look for the part that tells MODEL: Dogs bark. "Bark" tells Therefore, "bark" is the predicate. To find the subject, place the word what before the predicate and ask a question. The answer will be the subject. MODEL: What bark? Dogs. Therefore, “dogs" is the subject.

In this way find the predicates and the subjects in the following sentences. Always look first for the predicate.

1. Cats purr.
2. Winds blow.

3. Leaves fall.

4. Rabbits jump.

5. Rivers flow.

6. Birds sing.

7. Balls roll.

8. Monkeys chatter.

9. Horses neigh.

10. Flowers bloom.

4. THE PREDICATE AND SUBJECT

Look at some of these sentences: Dogs bark. Birds sing. Horses neigh. Leaves fall. Rivers flow. The words, "dogs," "birds," and "horses" name animals. The words "leaves" and "rivers" name things. Because the word what refers to animals and things, we used it in asking the question to find the subject; as, What bark? What sing?

In this lesson there are some sentences in which the subject names persons. The word who refers to persons. For this reason, who is used in asking the question when the subject is a person; as, Who play? Who work? Who sing?