XLIII. HOW TO PARSE NOUNS.

1. Subject......

The Noun [naming it, and telling whether it is Proper or Common, Singular or Plural] is Subject of such and such a Verb [naming it], because it is that of which a statement is made by the Verb.

"The army suffered defeat."

ARMY is a Common Noun, Singular Number, and Subject of the Verb suffered, because it is that of which the statement, suffered defeat, is made.

In the following sentences, parse the Noun-subjects:

1. Fishes are covered with scales.

2. A wise son maketh a glad father.

3. From crag to crag leaps the live thunder.

4. The horse is a quadruped.

2. Object.......

The Noun [naming it, and telling whether Proper or Common, Singular or Plural] is Object of the Verb [naming it].

"Columbus discovered America."

AMERICA is a Proper Noun, Singular, and is Object of the Verb discovered.

In the following sentences, parse the Noun-objects:

1. The cat followed the girl.

2. A man killed a tigress.

3. Fulton invented the steamboat.
4. The people saw the giant.

3. Apposition...

The Noun [naming it, etc.] is in Apposition with the Noun or Pronoun [naming it], because it denotes the same person or thing.

"Washington, the patriot, was born in Virginia." PATRIOT is a Common Noun, Singular, and is in Apposition with Washington, since it denotes the same person.

sition:

In the following sentences, parse the Nouns in Appo

1. Milton, the English poet, wrote "Paradise Lost."

2. The Christians were persecuted by Nero, the infamous emperor. 3. That useful animal, the camel, is found in Asia and Africa.

4. Predicate Nominative.

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The Noun [naming it, etc.] is the Pred. icate Nominative after the Verb be, and explains the Subject [naming it].

'Washington was a patriot."

PATRIOT is a Common Noun, Singular, in the Predicate Nominative after was, and explains the Subject, Washington.

In the following sentences, parse the Nouns in the Predicate Nominative:

1. Iron is a metal.

2. Franklin was a printer.

3. In a few years we shall be men.

5. Possessive...

The Noun [naming it, etc.] is in the Possessive Case [or Adjective form], and limits the Noun [naming it].

"The boys' slates are broken."

Boys' is a Common Noun, Plural, Possessive Case, and limits the Noun slates.

In the following sentences, parse the Nouns in the Possessive Case:

1. The beggar's rags may cover a noble heart.

2. The girl's slate broke, and the children's toys were lost.

3. Who soiled the horse's saddle?

4. The hero's harp and the lover's lute are silent.

6. Phrase Use.......

The Noun [naming it, etc.] is linked by

the Preposition [naming it] to such and such a word, and forms a Phrase, Adjective or Adverbial.

"The man with the white coat came from London." COAT is a Common Noun, Singular, and is linked by the Preposition with to the Noun man: with a white coat, is an Adjective Phrase.

LONDON is a Proper Noun, Singular, and is linked by the Preposition from to came: from London, is an Adverbial Phrase.

NOTE.-Nouns denoting time, space, or quantity, may be parsed as Phrases. The Preposition in such cases is understood. The travelers had ridden forty miles (that is, over forty miles). The table is worth ten dollars (that is, is of the value of ten dollars).

In the following sentences, parse the Nouns used in Phrases:

1. The boy in the boat caught a fish with a line.

2. The child met me on the road.

3. A sailor at sea looks hopefully for land.

7. Independent......

The Noun [naming it, etc.] is used independently.

"Our Father, who art in heaven."

FATHER is a Proper Noun, Singular, and is used independently by address.

"The mist having arisen, a beautiful prospect was disclosed."

MIST is a Common Noun, Singular, and is used independently in the Phrase, the mist having arisen.

In the following sentences, parse the Nouns independent.

1. Oh mighty Cæsar! dost thou lie so low?

2. Columbus having finished the account of his voyage, the sovereigns sank upon their knees.

3. Speak, marble lips!

4. The battle being ended, the general counted his loss.

Exercise 40.
A.

Parse all the NOUNS in the following sentences:

1. James roasted the apples.

2. The source of the Nile has been discovered by no one yet. 3. Coal-fields are the remains of vast forests.

4. The patriot's heart bled.

5. Warren was a patriot.

6. O Death, where is thy sting?

7. God moves in a mysterious way,
His wonders to perform:

He plants His footsteps in the sca,
And rides upon the storm.

B.

Read aloud the following piece; then write out an abstract from memory, and parse all the NOUNS :

FROZEN WORDS.-[ADDISON.]

We were separated by a storm in the latitude of 73°; but finally our ship got safe into a creek of Nova Zembla. We landed, in order to refit our vessel and obtain a store of provisions. The crew made themselves a cabin of turf and wood, to fence themselves from the cold, which was severe beyond imagination. We soon observed that in talking to one another we lost several of our words, and could not hear one another at above two yards' distance, even when we sat very near the fire. The reason was that our words froze in the air before they could reach the ears of the person to whom they were spoken. As the cold increased, the whole company grew dumb, or rather deaf; for each man knew he spoke as well as ever, but the sounds were condensed and lost. We continued here three weeks in this dismal plight. At length the air about us began to thaw. Our cabin was immediately filled with a dry, clattering sound, which I afterward found to be the crackling of consonants that broke above our heads, and were often mixed with a gentle hissing, that I imputed to the letter s which occurs so frequently in the English tongue. This was soon followed by syllables and short words, and at length by entire sentences, that melted sooner or later, as they were more or less congealed; so that we now heard every thing that had been spoken during the whole three weeks. It was now very early in the morning, and yet, to my surprise, I heard somebody say, "Captain, it is midnight, and time for the ship's crew to go to bed." This I knew to be the pilot's voice; and upon recollecting myself, I concluded that he had spoken these words to me some days before, though I could not hear them before the present thaw. Presently we heard à volley of oaths and curses, uttered in a very hoarse voice, which I knew belonged to the boatswain, who was a very choleric fellow, and had been cursing and swearing at me when he thought I could not hear. Half a mile from our cabin we heard a bear's groanings, which at first startled us; but we soon learned that he was dead and lay in salt, having been killed about a fortnight before.

XLIV. CONSTRUCTION OF ADJECTIVES.

(1.) The Article.

1. When two or more Nouns or Adjectives refer to the same thing, the Article is prefixed to the first only; but if they refer to different things, the Article should be repeated with each.

ILLUSTRATIONS.

1. "The governor and commander-in-chief has arrived"--that is, one person.

2. "The governor and the commander-in-chief have arrived "—that is, two persons.

3. "He lives in a long and narrow street"- one

street.

4. “The rich and the poor have a common interest" -two classes.

Show the application of this rule in the following sen

tences:

1. The ox and the sheep are the domestic animals chiefly used for food.

2. Benjamin Franklin, the philosopher and statesman, lived in Philadelphia.

3. The three brothers were under a large and spreading tree.

4. I passed a man and a boy on my way to the village.

5. Bishop Butler is a better reasoner than writer.

6. I saw a red, white, and blue flag. Here is a white and a red flag.

(2.) Comparison.

2. The Comparative is used when two objects are compared; the Superlative, when more than two. HenceRULE.-Be careful not to use the Superlative when but two objects are compared.