III. Limiting Adjectives. 1. DEFINITION. 2. SUBDIVISION. a. Articles. b. Pronominal adjectives. 3. ARTICLES. a. Definition. b. The name and use. 4. PRONOMINAL ADJECTIVES. (1) Demonstratives-example. (3) Distributives-example. (4) Interrogatives and relatives-example. 5. NUMERAL ADJECTIVES. a. Definition. b. Subdivision. (1) Cardinals-definition. (2) Ordinals-definition. (3) Multiplicatives-definition. IV. Qualifying Adjectives. 1. DEFINITION. V. Grammatical Forms. 1. COMPARISON DEFINITION. 2. NUMBER OF DEGREES. 3. RULES OF FORMATION. b. Polysyllabic words. 4. ADJECTIVES INCOMPARABLE. C. WRITTEN REVIEW. 1. Give the derivation of the word "adjective." 2. Explain how an adjective both limits and enlarges the sense of a noun. 3. Write a sentence containing two limiting adjectives; a sentence containing three qualifying adjectives. 4. Which is preferable, "a historical work" or "an historical work?" State the reason for your preference. 5. Write a sentence containing two or more proper adjectives. 6. Explain the meaning of the terms positive, comparative, and superlative. 7. Write a sentence containing an adjective in each of the degrees of comparison. 8. Copy the following, drawing one line under each adjective, and two lines under the word it limits or qualifies. The house-dog, on his paws outspread, And close at hand the basket stood, With nuts from brown October's wood.- Whittier. CHAPTER V. THE VERB. I. DEFINITION. 89. A verb is a word that predicates action or being: as 1. Full well they laughed with counterfeited glee At all his jokes, for many a joke had he. 2. All are but parts of one harmonious whole. I. The predication, i. e., the assertion or statement, is made about some person or thing, and the word naming that person or thing is called the subject of the verb. II. The distinguishing mark of the verb is its possession of grammatical forms to denote varieties of person, number, time, and mode of predication. II. CLASSES OF VERBS. 90. Verbs are divided into two classes: I. TRANSITIVE. II. INTRANSITIVE. 91. A transitivet verb is one that denotes an action terminating on some object: thus 1. Richard struck the ball-[action terminating on the object named, "ball "]. 2. Milton wrote Paradise Lost―[action terminating on the object named, "Paradise Lost "]. "To predicate," from Latin prædicare, to tell, assert, declare, or make known. "Transitive" is from Latin trans, over, and ire, to go=going or passing over, the idea being that the action, instead of being merely asserted of the subject, passes over and affects or terminates on some object. 92. Complement.-A transitive verb does not by itself make a complete statement; it requires a completing term, or complement. Some intransitive verbs, also, require a completing term, though of a kind different from that required by the transitive verb. (See § 94.) · The complement of any verb is the word or words required to complete the statement. The complement of a transitive verb is called its object: as, "ball," "Paradise Lost," in § 91. I. The object of a transitive verb is always a noun (or its equivalent) in the objective case. II. Every transitive verb is an incomplete verb, or a verb of incomplete predication. Thus "Solomon built-" is not a complete statement. We ask, "Built what?" The statement may be completed in this way: "Solomon built the Temple." Here the complement of the transitive verb "built" is the object "Temple," a noun in the objective case. 93. An intransitive verb is one that denotes (1) a state or condition, or (2) an action not terminating on an object: as1. Children sleep-[state or condition]. 2. The sea-bird rises as the billows rise-[action not terminating on an object, but affecting the agent only]. 94. Complement.-Most intransitive verbs make complete statements; but there are a few intransitive verbs of incomplete predication (as be, become, seem, look, appear, smell, feel, and the like); these require as complement either a predicate noun or a predicate adjective: thus— 1. Mary is beautiful-[adjective-complement of the verb "is"]. 3. A boy becomes a man-[noun-complement of "becomes "]. 5. Macbeth looked pale-[adjective-complement of "looked"]. C 6. Henry VIII. appeared every inch a king-[noun-complement of "appeared"]. 7. The rose smells sweet-[adjective-complement of "smells". = the rose is sweet to the smell]. NOTE.-Verbs of this class have been variously designated neuter verbs, copula verbs, and apposition verbs; but there is no need of a special designation for them. They are simply intransitive verbs of incomplete predication. 95. Double Use.-Many verbs expressing action may be used either transitively or intransitively, but with a different meaning in each case: thus 1. {The baby speaks already [intransitive]. 2. The man speaks several languages—[transitive]. The ship sinks-[intransitive]. The pirate sinks the ship-[transitive]. I. In the first examples the action denoted by the verb ("speaks") II. In the second examples the verb used transitively signifies to 96. An auxiliary verb is one used to assist in conjugating other verbs: as, shall, may, should. NOTE. For the definition of conjugation, see § 140. The auxiliary verbs do not form a class distinct from verbs transitive or intransitive, but are themselves either transitive or intransitive. NOTES ON THE CLASSIFICATION OF VERBS. I. Compounds. Many intransitive verbs when followed by particular prepositions become transitive and take an object. ThusThe baby laughs. We laughed at the clown. *This example belongs to a numerous class of verbs which some grammarians have called causatives. |