In the eighth sentence wounded tells what kind of man it is. Wounded is a modifier of man. Modifiers are words or groups of words that affect the meaning of other words. Modifiers of Nouns and Pronouns Adjectives Read the following sentences and notice the words that either describe or point out nouns and pronouns: 1. A cold, penetrating rain was falling. 2. A tiny, wounded sparrow fluttered from the tree. 3. The tallest boy led the line. 4. A brown parcel lay on the table. 5. This brick house was built in 1875. 7. These green peppers make good salad. 8. The first house was struck by lightning. What words tell what kind of rain was falling? What words describe sparrow? What words point out and describe boy? What words point out and describe parcel? What words point out and describe house? What words point out and describe pigs? What words modify peppers? What words modify house in the last sentence? Words that modify nouns or pronouns are called adjectives. Form sentences in which you use the following words as adjectives: Planning and Writing a Paragraph Read the following sentences, and select one on which you can write. Plan a paragraph on this topic sentence. After you have thought through your paragraph, write it. 1. I found out the other day that it isn't always best to have my own way. car. 2. Bang! Crash! The automobile had struck another 3. There is a good deal of hard work connected with camping. 4. A funny thing happened in our room. 5. I had a hard time learning to swim (skate, ride a bicycle, etc.). 6. When I hear the train whistle I feel like going somewhere. 7. I should like to live where it is always summer. 8. A cat more than pays her board in a home. 9. Dogs should not be allowed to run at large. 10. If everybody helps, we can make our school yard clean and attractive. Read carefully what you have written, and correct the mistakes. A committee of pupils may select several of the best paragraphs to be read to the class. Exercise Select the nouns, the pronouns, the verbs, and the adjectives in the following sentences: 1. A young marine vanished from the ranks. 2. He was not seen again for eight days. 3. A hungry, dirty, tired, sore marine crawled into the American lines. 4. It happened in this way. 5. A shaggy Red Cross dog tracked the worried marine to his hiding place. 6. The thirsty fellow longed for water. 7. The sleepy guard nodded. 8. We saw something in the thick bushes. 9. The enemy's artillery fired close to him. 10. The enemy took his dog-tag, his notebooks, his money, and his letters. II. The noisy car rattled past the window. 12. The large dog snarled angrily at the cat. 13. The boy in the first seat rose. 14. The train traveled rapidly over the level country. 15. A little wounded bird dropped at my feet. His and my are adjectives. IX. PLANNING A LONG STORY A Continued Story We are usually more interested in working out our ideas in a long story or article than in a single paragraph; but as we do not have much time in school for writing, a long story must be continued from week to week. In writing a long story you should plan the story by paragraphs. Each paragraph should tell one division of the story. When you have decided how many divisions your story will have and what the topic of each paragraph will be, you may then write one paragraph at a time until your story is complete. The story may be illustrated by your own drawings or by pictures cut from magazines. One sixth-grade class1 worked out through several weeks a good story that is suggestive to other pupils. This class planned each paragraph in outline form, as shown on the left, pages 231-234. Then each member of the class wrote his own paragraph, following the outline. The first draft was read and corrected, after which it was neatly copied in a notebook. So the story grew week by week. 1 Sixth Grade of Kanawha School, Charleston, West Virginia. |