Just as adverbs sometimes consist of two or more words used as one word, so also do prepositions. In the following, the expressions in Italics are phrase prepositions: The Gospel according to St. Mark; done in spite of opposition; respected in proportion to his wealth; acted with respect to his interests; decided in accordance with the evidence. EXAMPLES FOR PRACTICE 1. By several suitable prepositions establish a relationship in meaning between each of the following: rode . . . the forest, sailed . . . the ocean, spoke. . . him, died . . . sunrise, acted . . . the enemy, lived. . . the sea. 2. Find prepositional phrase modifiers of the following words used as adjectives: hopeful, polite, disobedient, confident, courageous, revengeful, faithful, sorry, smooth, sad. Model.-Every father should be HOPEFUL of the success of his children. 3. Construct ten sentences in each of which appear two nouns connected by a preposition. Model.-My sister gave me a book of poems. 4. Construct sentences containing the following used correctly as prepositions: from, before, against, below, under, around, opposite, toward, within, without. 5. Make a list of the prepositional phrases contained in the following stanzas: Tears, idle tears, I know not what they mean, In looking on the happy autumn fields, And thinking of the days that are no more. Fresh as the first beam glittering on a sail That brings our friends up from the under world, Dear as remembered kisses after death, Deep as first love, and wild with all regret, O Death in Life, the days that are no more.— Tennyson. 35. THE CONJUNCTION Function of Conjunctions.- Like the preposition, the conjunction is used for connecting. Between these two parts of speech there are some differences that are easily seen. 1. Conjunctions usually connect clauses; prepositions never do. Mary went to the picnic, but Kate remained at home. Here the conjunction but connects the two clauses of the sentence, in each of which there is a preposition connecting words. In the first clause, to connects went with picnic; in the second at connects remained with home. 2. Conjunctions connect words belonging to the same part of speech or words used in the same way; prepositions usually connect different parts of speech and words used differently. This may be seen from the illustrations below: 3. A conjunction does not take after it a noun or a pronoun to form phrases that modify the meaning of other words; a preposition forms with its object an adjective or adverbial modifier, or an expression used as a noun. Thus, in the examples under 2 above, of play, by play, etc. are adverbial modifiers of tired. No such use can be made of the conjunction and the word that follows it. The most important work of conjunctions is to connect; that of the preposition is to bring words into relation. The conjunction and is used more, perhaps, than all the other conjunctions taken together. This word has been called the plus sign of language; for when it is placed between two words or phrases or sentences it denotes that the sum of their meanings is to be understood. Other conjunctions that are much used are but, if, unless, yet, though, although, because, therefore, however, moreover, hence, lest, whether, provided, for (meaning because). Some conjunctions go in pairs: not only . . . and, neither . . . nor, or . . or. or, nor but also, both nor, either Conjunctions used in pairs are called correlative conjunctions. Definition.—A conjunction is a word used to connect clauses, or sentential elements that are used alike. Conjunctions frequently stand at the beginning of sentences; they are then said to introduce rather than connect. And I have loved thee, ocean. EXAMPLES FOR PRACTICE 1. By using five different conjunctions, form five sentences of the following: He trusted in me . . . I had no confidence in him. 2. Separate each of the following sentences into three others that shall together be equivalent to the separated sentence: (a) Cherries, plums, and pears succeed well in the United States. (b) The boy can read, write, and cipher very well indeed. (c) The drover purchased sheep, calves, and oxen from the farmers. (d) The President spoke of a government of the people, by the people, for the people. 3. Construct sentences in which shall occur the following words used as conjunctions: because, hence, or, notwithstanding, unless, except, although, if, yet, whereas. 4. By using conjunctions, make one sentence of each of the following groups: (a) Rome was not built in a day. A fortune is not made in a year. The Spanish fleet entered the harbor of Santiago. (b){ The Spanish fleet tried to escape to the ocean. The Spanish fleet was destroyed by the blockading vessels. (c) The great prizes of life are not won by trickery. THE INTERJECTION 36. In addition to the seven classes of words already described, there is another class commonly reckoned by grammarians as forming the eighth part of speech. Some examples are the following: oh! alas! hark! ha! While it is convenient and perhaps better that words of this kind should be regarded as forming another part of speech, it should be remembered that they have no place in sentential structure. They are thrown among (inter, among, and jectus, thrown) sentences to indicate feeling only, not thought. In language, they are as much out of grammatical relation with the real elements of sentences as the figures that are used in numbering chapters and paragraphs. Some authorities say that interjections represent entire sentences condensed into single words. By this they mean that pshaw! for example, is a kind of equivalent for What you say is absurd, and hist! for Be quiet and listen, for I hear a strange noise, or the like. A sigh or a groan is, in a sense, an interjection, and while these generally convey a hint of the thought appropriate to them, they do not express thought in the precise way required in the sentences of which grammar takes account. We often hear imitations of the noises made when we cough or sneeze or laugh or weep, and these sounds may be represented in print; and the cries of certain animals are indicated by such words as mew! bow-wow! cluck! baa! whippoorwill! These may be classed as interjections when so used. Since we do not need such words as oh! alas! ugh! ha! fie! fudge! hem! heigh-ho! he! etc. in expressing thought, an interjection may be defined as follows: Definition.-An interjection is a word that has no relation to other words in a sentence, and is used to express feeling or emotion. PARTS OF SPEECH GROUPED 37. The parts of speech, considered with respect to the importance of the work each does in expressing thought, may be placed in two groups: 1. The Indispensable Parts of Speech.-These are the verb, the noun, and its substitute, the pronoun. With the verb and the noun or the pronoun, a complete sentence may be formed; but these are the only parts of speech with which this can be done. 2. The Auxiliary or Helping Parts of Speech. These include the five remaining classes of words: (a) The Modifiers.-The adjective and the adverb. (b) The Connectives.-The preposition and the conjunction. (c) The Interjection.-These words serve to indicate the feeling intended to be associated with expressed thought. It will hereafter appear that words are sometimes used in such manner as to make it difficult to decide in what class they belong; also, that some words do double duty in the sentence. Thus, there are many words that modify in the manner of adjectives and at the same time have the function of pronouns; others again modify as adverbs and connect as conjunctions. These cases, however, will be considered in the proper places. SYNOPSIS 1. Noun--Names something. INDISPENSABLE 2. Pronoun-Refers to names. AUXILIARY 1. Modifiers 2. Connectives nouns. (b) Adverb-Modifies meaning of verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. ((a) Preposition-Brings words into relation with noun or pronoun. (b) Conjunction-Connects similar elements. 3. Interjection-Colors thought with feeling. |