1. Leap frog is a boy's game.

2. Hop scotch is a girl's game.

3. Baseball and football are boys' games.

4. Jackstones and jumping the rope are girls' games.

In the first and second sentences there are two nouns which show possession. Are they singular or plural? How is the possession shown?

In the third and fourth sentences the same nouns show possession. Are they singular or plural? With what letter do they end? How is the possession shown?

Plural nouns ending in s show possession by adding only the apostrophe.

Study these sentences:

1. The children's shop is on the corner.

2. Men's hats are for sale here.

3. Women's suits are on the third floor.

What nouns show possession in each of the sentences? Are they singular or plural? Notice that they do not end in s. How is the possession shown?

Plural nouns which do not end in s show possession like singular nouns; that is, they add the apostrophe and s.

EXERCISES
I

Each of you may go to the board and write two sentences. In one, use the singular form of a word to show possession; in the other, use the plural form. Your classmates will decide whether your sentences are correctly written.

II

Write a sentence in which you refer to your sisters as owning dresses; one referring to horses as owning manes; one referring to boys as owning kites; one referring to queens as owning jewels.

Compare the following sentences:

1. Susan knew Harry at once, for Susan remembered scolding Harry one day for catching Harry's toe in the doormat and tripping over the doormat as Susan and Harry came in.

2. Susan knew Harry at once, for she remembered scolding him one day for catching his toe in the doormat and tripping over it as they came in.

The first sentence is hardly a sentence at all. There is such a repetition and huddling together of nouns that the meaning is almost smothered; but in the second sentence, certain one-syllabled words take the place of the repeated nouns, and the sentence is smooth and intelligible. Words that take the place of nouns are pronouns. In the following list you will find the most important pronouns :

A pronoun is a word used instead of a noun.

EXERCISES

I

What pronouns would you use in speaking of yourself?

of your mother? of your brother? of your home?

What pronouns do you use in speaking to anyone?

What pronouns would you use in speaking of your brother and yourself?

II

Fill the following blanks with the proper pronouns and tell for what nouns they stand:

1. James was informed that if - did not study,

be dropped from the roll.

name would

4. Brother and I told Lucy that if did not come on,

would

III

Write six sentences, using one of these nouns in each of

them; then write six sentences in which each noun is referred to by the proper pronoun:

Read the following stanza:

The rosy clouds float overhead,
The sun is going down;

And now the sandman's gentle tread
Comes stealing through the town.
"White sand, white sand," he softly cries,
And as he shakes his hand,
Straightway there lies on babies' eyes

His gift of shining sand.

Blue eyes, gray eyes, black eyes, and brown,
As shuts the rose they softly close,

When he goes through the town.

- MARGARET VANDERGRIFT.

Which line tells us the time of day? Is it a clear or cloudy evening? What word shows that? What happens to the eyes of babies when the sandman brings his gift of shining sand?

What words are used to describe the color of the different babies' eyes? These words that are used to describe are

adjectives. What noun do these adjectives describe? We say that the adjective blue describes, or modifies, the noun eyes. What other adjectives modify the noun eyes?

Find the adjective that describes or modifies clouds; the one that describes the sandman's tread; the one that modifies sand.

An adjective is a word used to modify a noun.

Adjectives That Describe Persons.

What adjectives are used in "The Sandman" to describe eyes? What other adjectives can you use to describe one's eyes?

What are some of the adjectives you might use to describe one's step or tread?

The clouds were described as rosy. What parts of a person's face might be described by the adjective rosy? What other adjectives might be used to describe a person's face? What else may be described by the adjective rosy?

Think of adjectives to use in describing one's hair - not only the color but the kind of hair, as:

soft

coarse

curling

smooth

Think of adjectives that describe one's manner, as: