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ing sentences. Note that in many of these sentences some parts are in transposed order:

1. In the heart of a seed

Buried deep, so deep,

A dear little plant
Lay fast asleep.

2. Dark brown is the river;
Golden is the sand;
It flows along forever,

With trees on either hand.

3. Over in the meadow,

In the sand, in the sun,
Lived an old mother toad

And her little toadie one.

4. "Give us a song," the soldier cried.
5. On the cross-beam under the Old South bell
The nest of a pigeon is builded well.

6. Modest and shy as a nun is she.

7. Announced by all the trumpets of the sky, Arrives the snow.

8. Still cheerily the chickadee

Singeth to me on fence and tree.

9. The sun, that brief December day, Rose cheerless over hills of gray.

10. The moon, above the eastern wood,

Shone at its full.

11. Down swept the chill wind from the mountain peak. 12. Where soil is, men grow,

Whether to weeds or flowers.

13. No more was seen the human form divine.

14. Merrily, merrily, shall I live now,

Under the blossom that hangs on the bow.

30. VERBS

The grasshopper sang; the wind swept through the grass, and swung the harebelis; the drowsy hum of the threshing engine rose up from the plain; the low slumberous melody of harvest time floated in the air.

Name the word which tells you what the grasshopper did. What words tell what the wind did? Find the word that tells what the melody did. These words are verbs.

The verbs in the sentences above tell something about the subject. They denote action. Not all verbs, however, show action.

Others express being.

1. Airplanes carry mail.

Some verbs express condition.

(Action)

2. The Bunker Hill Monument is in Boston, Massachusetts. (Being)

3. American soldiers lie in Flanders Field. (Condition)

The verbs is and lie assert something about the subject and are verbs, but they do not show action.

Exercise.

A verb is a word that asserts action, being, or condition. Select the verbs in the following sentences and tell whether they express action, being, or condition:

1. The children built a fort of snow.
2. The Mississippi Valley is very fertile.
3. Heaven lies about us in our infancy.

4. The Romans constructed roads which are still in use.

5. Sweet are the uses of adversity.

6. The town lay before him, spread out in the red glare of the dying sun.

7. The pupils of the school were loyal supporters of all its activities.

8. A tiny brook gurgled happily over mossy stones. 9. There is one thing we all need, and that is patience. 10. The "Clermont" steamed proudly up the Hudson.

31. THE LINKING VERB

Edison is one of the greatest American inventors.
Western sunsets are beautiful.

The apple tastes delicious.

The baby's skin feels soft.

In the above sentences the verbs do not assert action. A linking verb may be completed by a noun, a pronoun, or an adjective. When an adjective is used in this way, it is called a predicate adjective.

Roosevelt was a great president.-Predicate noun
It is I.-Predicate pronoun

The Red Cross organization is helpful.—Predicate adjective A linking verb is one that joins the subject to another word which describes or means the same thing as the subject.

The linking verb is sometimes called a copula or copulative verb because it couples or joins the subject with the word or words which complete the thought.

Exercise. Show that in each of these sentences the verb is a linking verb. Select the predicate nouns and the predicate adjectives:

1. The girl looks pretty.

2. Fir trees grow tall.

3. The young man became a lawyer.

4. The child feels sorry.

5. It seems warm today.

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6. The weather has been very rainy.

7. Vinegar tastes sour.

8. The pictures were beautiful.

Select the verb in each of the following sentences. Tell which verbs denote action and which are linking verbs:

1. The robins are not good singers.

2. After the party, we drove home in the moonlight.

3. An idle boy never accomplishes anything.

4. America is the land of the free.

5. Concord was the home of four famous men.

6. The day is cold, and dark, and dreary;

It rains, and the wind is never weary;

The vine still clings to the mouldering wall,

But at every gust the dead leaves fall,

And the day is dark and dreary.

7. The glow in the western sky faded, and the stars appeared one by one.

8. The apple tastes sweet.

9. She seems very ill.

10. I recollect every incident of that dreadful scene.

11. Walking is good exercise.

12. Baseball is the great American game.

13. He knocked the ball over the fence.

14. Some of the stars are suns.

32. THE PUBLIC LIBRARY

Your teacher will be glad to go with you to the public library. Before your visit you will want to know how a public library is supported, why people feel it is worth having, and of what use it is to you. During your visit observe carefully the arrangement of the books and note the plan used for lending them.

After your visit you may be asked to speak on one of the following topics:

1. What I Learned About a Library Reference Room

2. How to Use the Card Catalogue

3. How People Behave in the Library

4. What Was the Most Interesting Thing About My Visit to the Library

If there is no library available, pretend that your textbooks comprise a library. Then show that you know how to get a book from the library.

THE BOOK

Be prepared to give a short talk on

1. My Book

Have a card in your hand on which are the following guide words:

1. Title (suggestive of story)

2. Author (well known)

3. Preface (value)

4. Contents (where found-how used) 5. Appendix (what is usually found in)

6. Index (what its use is)

2. How I Would Proceed to Get from the Library the Book, The Story of a Bad Boy, by Thomas Bailey Aldrich

3. How I Would Instruct My Younger Brother in the Care of a Book

On pages 72 and 190 you will find lists of interesting books. Read as many of them as you can.

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