Kinds of Words

CHAPTER XII

KINDS OF WORDS

VI. PREPOSITIONS

173. The single words that we have used to modify other words are adjectives or adverbs; but we see that little groups of words called phrases may be used to modify both nouns and verbs in about the same way.
Thus we may speak of —

a thorny bush or a bush with thorns;

an English home or a home in England.

It is easy to see that with thorns and in England are very much like adjectives in meaning, though they are put after the noun instead of before it. Again, in these sentences, —

The letter was carefully written.	It was sent promptly.
The letter was written with care.	It was sent without delay.

the phrases with care and without delay seem to modify the verbs just as the adverbs carefully and promptly do. So, too, —

The wind blew very furiously	might be changed to —
The wind blew with great fury.

174. It very often happens that there is no adjective or adverb in our language that will serve as a modifier to express our meaning, and then we are forced to use such phrases.
Here, for example, we could not possibly find a single word that would take the place of the phrases:² —

The house by the river is a hotel.	He came from the city.
Those on the shelf are sold.	The picture hung on the wall.

The path of industry leads to success.

My friend was with his regiment.

All such groups of words are called phrases because they are used like single words.
We have already learned that a verb phrase is used like a single verb, and we will find that there are still othe kinds of phrases.

EXERCISE 161.

EXERCISE 162.

175. All these phrases contain a noun or a pronoun with a word like of, with, from, in, at, or by, that connects it with what is modified. These words usually come first in the phrase, and they are called Prepositions.
Let us see what they do for our language that other words will not do.

176. If we wished to show that a clump of trees was the place where some boys were hiding, we might say, —

The boys hid in the trees.

The boys hid under the trees.

The boys hid among the trees.

The boys hid behind the trees.

The boys hid beyond the trees.

The boys hid around the trees.

The only difference is in the prepositions in, under, among, etc. Read the sentences without them, and you will see that nobody could tell what the trees had to do with the hiding; but with the prepositions we see that the word “trees” can be used to modify “hid” in various ways; for it is one thing to hide under the trees, another to hide in the trees, and so on.

EXERCISE 163.

177. Using a phrase as an adjective, we might say, —

the land around the woods

the walk from the woods

the shade of the woods

the road to the woods

the trail through the woods

a flight over the woods

Here we modify or explain the meaning of the nouns walk, land, shade, etc., by referring to the woods; but in order to do this we have to use a different preposition in each expression.

178. To show how one word can modify another, or what the meanings of two words have to do with each other, is to show the relation between them.

EXERCISE 164.

179. A Preposition is a relation word used with a noun or a pronoun to make a phrase having the use of an adjective or an adverb.
The word “preposition” means what is placed before.

180. The noun or pronoun used with a preposition is called the Object of the preposition.

181. A Prepositional phrase is a phrase that contains a preposition and its object.

EXERCISE 165.

182. Since prepositional phrases can be used wherever an adverb can be, we find them modifying not only nouns, pronouns, and verbs, but adjectives and adverbs also. Thus: —

	He was happy to excess,	or	He was excessively happy.
	They are ripe before their time,	or	They are prematurely ripe.

In other cases it is harder to find what will take the place of the phrase. As: —

	This breeze is fresh from the ocean.
	We are tired from working.

Here the four phrases modify adjectives as adverbs would.

The Reed & Kellogg method of diagramming put the preposition (like an adverb) on a line slanting downward from the word modified. The object would be placed on a horizontal line attached near its end from which its modifiers (and complements) would be attached, thus:

EXERCISE 166.

EXERCISE 167.

     183. We have learned that a preposition connects two other words by showing what one of them has to do with the other.
     We come now to words that connect in a different way.
     In the sentence, —

The sun sets and the moon appears,

how many verbs are there? What is the subject of each? Read the sentence, omitting the word and.
Here, then, are two sentences joined or tied together as one sentence. They might have been printed thus: —

The sun sets. The moon appears.

So we might unite three or more sentences into one; as, —

The sun has set,	and	the stars appear.
The sun has set,	for	the stars appear.
The sun has set,	but	the stars appear.
The sun has set,	therefore	the stars appear.

And seems to join the sentences together, as if they were about one subject; for shows that one statement gives the reason for making the other; and so on with other words of this sort, such as but, therefore, or, nor, hence, however.

184. There are not very many of these words, and as they all connect or join together what we say, they are called conjunctions.
They all denote different relations between the expressions they connect, by showing what the connected parts have to do with each other. But, unlike prepositions, they always connect expressions of the same sort.

EXERCISE 168.

185. Such sentences as the preceding differ from those we have been studying; for they are made up of two or more simple sentences combined. Instead of one predicate and the subject of it, they have two or more predicates each with a subject of its own.

EXERCISE 169.

( Kind ) friends have left us, | but | they will return [ soon ].

The Reed & Kellogg method of diagramming put the conjunction on a dotted line connecting the two predicates, thus:

186. Sentences made in this way, by uniting two or more simple sentences, are called compound.

187. A Simple Sentence is a sentence that contains only one subject and one predicate.

188. A Compound Sentence is a sentence formed by uniting independent sentences.
The sentences united to form a compound sentence are called its members.

189. Punctuation. RULE. — When the members of a compound sentence are connected by a conjunction, they must generally be separated by a comma to show that the conjunction does not join two words. Thus: —

There were wheels to the cart, and the axles were strong.

EXERCISE 170.

With multiple subjects or objects Reed & Kellogg put the conjunction on a dotted line connecting them, thus:

190. Conjunctions are used to connect not only sentences, but also words or expressions in the same sentence when they are of the same kind and used in the same way.
1. Two or more nouns or pronouns, subjects or objects, may be connected in one sentence; as in —

	Music and painting are fine arts.
	Did you ask him or her or me?

2. Several verbs, verb phrases, or predicates may be joined together in one sentence; as in, —

Farmers raise and sell vegetables for the market.

3. So, too, we may wish to unite two or more adjectives, adverbs, or prepositional phrases, that modify the same word; as in, —

	The dead or dying soldiers were left behind.
	She walks gracefully and firmly, but very slowly.
	The volume is in the book case or on the table.

EXERCISE 171.

With multiple modifiers Reed & Kellogg put the conjunction on a dotted line connecting them, thus:

191. A Conjunction is a word that connects sentences or parts of sentences.
The word “conjunction” means that which joins together.

192. Punctuation. RULE. — Two or more words or phrases of the same kind used in the same way should be separated by commas, unless conjunctions are used to connect them all.
Thus: —

Clergymen, lawyers, and doctors preach, argue, or heal.

But in the sentence —

We met them in Pittsburg and in Detroit and in Chicago,

each phrase is connected to the following one by a conjunction, and no commas are needed. [See § 165.]

EXERCISE 172.

VIII. INTERJECTIONS

     193. The seven kinds of words that we have now learned to distinguish make up all our sentences: for every word that is really part of a sentence is either a noun, pronoun, a verb, an adjective, an adverb, a preposition, or a conjunction.
     There are othe words, however, that we use instead of or with sentences, but not as parts of them. They are a different kind of language.
     Thus, if anyone says —

Oh! you hurt me,

the word oh is apt to be very much like a groan. So in —

Aha! I found you!

aha takes the place of a shout; and in the following sentences, —

Pshaw! what a silly reason!

Poh! that’s nothing.

He came, alas! too late.

the words pshaw, poh, and alas are about as expressive as a hiss, a puff, and a sigh.

194. When we use these words we do not assert anything, and very much of our meaning comes from the tone in which we speak: but everybody understands at once that we are pained or pleased, and so on, just as we tell by a dog’s whining whether he is grieved or delighted.
We must notice, however, that instead of making natural sounds to show our feelings, as animals do, we use words that are somewhat like such sounds, and which mean the same thing.

EXERCISE 173.

Reed & Kellogg put the interjection on a horizontal line above the sentence diagram, thus:

195. Such words are called Interjections because they are thrown into the midst of what we say without having much to do with other words.

196. A different sort of interjection is used in expressions like this: —

Bang! There goes another gun!

where the word bang is used merely to imitate a noise.
When we wish to represent these words by writing, we spell out the sounds as nearly as we can, just as we write bow-wow to represent the bark of a dog.

197. An Interjection is an exclamatory word or phrase used to express a feeling or a wish or to imitate some sound.
The word “interjection” means something that is thrown into the midst of what we say.

198. Punctuation. RULE. — An interjection should be followed by an exclamation point when it expresses very strong emotion, or when there would be a distinct pause in speaking.

EXERCISE 174.

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