of prepositions (4); the predicate nouns, pronouns, and adjectives (5). 1. You may be right. 2. I shall be free to-morrow. 3. I did not tell him. 4. You should look more carefully. 5. He could work faster. 6. I shall come in ten minutes. 7. He may not arrive on time. 8. You must finish the work immediately. 10. She could not do it without help. II. He will be captain soon. 12. They can write the lesson easily. 135. A COMPOSITION Rescuing a Little Monkey Fritz and his father started out early in the morning to explore the island. On their way home they passed through a grove of palm trees. Suddenly Link, the dog, darted away from them, and sprang furiously among a troop of monkeys which were playing on the grass a short distance from the trees. The monkeys were completely taken by surprise. The dog, who was very hungry, seized one and began fiercely to tear it to pieces. His victim happened to be the mother of a tiny baby monkey. The little creature attempted to hide in the grass, then, trembling, watched its mother being devoured by the dog. Fritz had rushed to the rescue, throwing away everything he was carrying and losing his hat in his. haste. He was too late, however, to rescue the mother monkey. As soon as the young monkey caught sight of Fritz it bounded lightly to his shoulder, and held fast to his thick curly hair. Try as hard as he would, Fritz could not dislodge the monkey. He screamed and threw himself about wildly. He tried to pull or shake it off, but all in vain. It only clung more closely to his neck, making the most absurd faces. At last, by coaxing the little creature and offering it a bit of biscuit, its small paws were loosened from the curls it grasped so tightly. Fritz was very much relieved. He was now interested in the baby, that looked no bigger than a kitten. "What a jolly little fellow it is!" Fritz exclaimed. "Let me try to raise it, father?" As Fritz had tried to save the mother's life, he was permitted to take the monkey along. It seated itself comfortably on his shoulder for the journey home. From Swiss Family Robinson Read the story through, making a list of the most difficult words for spelling. Read it through again, making a list of the adverbs that will help you write your story with better effect; as, suddenly, away, furiously. Copy ten of them. Notice, too, that although the story is about a monkey and its mother, the word monkey is not repeated so often that it sounds disagreeable. Make a list of the words from the story that you can use instead of monkey; as, it, the victim. Make an outline; then, without referring to your book, write the story. After you have finished writing, read your story to correct all errors in grammatical form. Read it again, and correct all mistakes in punctuation and in the use of capital letters. Then read it a third time, looking for errors in spelling. When your composition has been returned to you, mark the number of errors you have made in each of the following subjects. Use this list to indicate to yourself the part of your next composition that requires the most attention. 136. A LANGUAGE LESSON They set out for London two or three days before Midsummer Day. Robin Hood carried a bag of gold under his long robe, while Little John and Will Scarlett carried dried venison and cakes. It was beautiful weather, both cool and sunny. Many miles of their way lay through forest lands, but it seemed to them that no trees they saw were so beautiful as those of their own Sherwood Forest. Sometimes a deer ran by them, and then they wished for their bows and arrows. Now and then they passed through little hamlets, and always the villagers were talking of the Prince of Aragon, and of the contest. After a time, the little hamlets became more frequent, a sign that they were coming closer to London. Many and many a time had Robert, Earl of Huntington, ridden over that road on a battle horse, but Robin Hood, who walked, was just as happy as the earl had been. When they came in sight of the River Thames he pointed out interesting landmarks to Little John, who had never been to London. Presently, they saw a gray haze, which later turned into the buildings of Londoncastles and huts, mills and smithies, shops and booths, all shining in the bright sunlight. From Robin Hood and His Merry Men, by Make up a title for this description. It contains many little words often misused. Find and write them with enough of the sentence to show their correct use; as, "two or three." Find the capitalized words, and account for the capitals. Notice the use of punctuation marks. When you have finished the dictation exercise, correct your work and record your errors under appropriate headings. 137. A REVIEW 1. Name two parts of speech used as modifiers, and tell what each modifies. 2. What three things do verbs express? Give an example of each. 3. Name the three principal parts of a verb. 4. Which of the forms is used with the auxiliaries has, have, and had? 5. Which is used with the auxiliaries do, does, may, can, must, might, could, would, and should? 6. Which form is never used with auxiliaries? 7. What pronouns may be subjects of sentences? 8. Name the pronouns that may be used as predicate pronouns following the verb be. 9. Name the pronouns that may be used as objects of verbs or prepositions. 138. THE PRESENT PARTICIPLE Verbs have three principal parts: present, past, and past participle. There is another form of the verb, not usually given among the principal parts, called the present participle. The present participle is formed by adding ing to the present form of the verb; as, fly, flying; fall, falling. The present participle of any verb becomes part of the predicate verb by placing it after some form of the verb be; as, I am falling. The bird is flying. The past participle of the verb is used in the same way; as, I am seen. He is seen. When the present and past participles are so used they become parts of the predicate verbs. a. Write the present and past participles of the following verbs: fly, fall, read, go, do, eat, know, throw, ring, climb. b. Copy the following groups of words, and add writing, the present participle of the verb write. |