Exercise 98. Development

1. The children ran and played.

What part of speech is the word ran? What is its subject? What part of speech is played? What is its subject?

You see these two words are verbs having the same subject. They are used exactly alike and so are said to be of the same rank.

2. Mary or Alice will go.

How is the noun Mary used? The noun Alice? They are subjects of this same predicate and so are of the same rank.

3. The children ran by the house and into the barn.

Describe the phrase by the house; the phrase into the bam. Since they are both phrases added to the same word and expressing the same idea, they are of the same rank.

The two predicates of the first sentence are said to form a compound predicate; the two subjects of the second form a compound subject; and the two phrases in the third form a compound adverbial phrase. Any part of a sentence may be compound.

4. You may go, but I will stay.

How many groups of words, each having a subject and a predicate, does this sentence have? Is either an adjunct of the other? Which is the more important? (Since each is an independent proposition, they are of the same rank). Such a sentence is called a compound sentence.

What is the use of and in Sentence 1? The word or in Sentence 2? Why is or used instead of and 9 What is the use of and in Sentence 3? Of but in Sentence 4? Why is but used instead of and? Words used like and, or, and but in these sentences are called coordinate conjunctions.