CHAPTER I OF SENTENCES IN GENERAL 15. Ideas and Phrases.-The word "dog," when heard or seen, instantly creates in the mind a mental picture of a well-known animal. This mental picture is called an IDEA. The idea may be made more definite by the addition of other words, as, "The big bulldog in Mr. Smith's yard;" but though the idea is now complex, that is, has several parts, it still remains a single mental picture. -Definition. A group of related words expressing a single idea is called a Phrase. 16. Thoughts and Sentences.-The phrase "The big bulldog in Mr. Smith's yard" is satisfactory as an expression of a mental picture or idea; but as a remark made by some one it is incomplete, for we at once find ourselves asking, "Well, what about that dog?" We are satisfied when we hear that "The big bulldog in Mr. Smith's yard barked." From this group of words we get more than a single idea. We get, first, the idea of a certain dog, and, secondly, we get an idea of what the dog did. Of these ideas, the second is an assertion about the first. Two ideas of this kind-something thought of and an assertion about it-together form a complete THOUGHT. Definition.-A group of related words expressing a complete thought is called a Sentence. 17. Sentences and Phrases Distinguished.— "The big bulldog barking in the yard" is not a sentence, for it contains no assertion. "Barking" does, indeed, imply action; but it does not assert. It is merely a descriptive word, like "big,” helping to fill out the mental picture of a certain dog, about which as yet no assertion has been made. "Big' shows the size of the dog, "barking" shows his occupation, "in the yard" shows his whereabouts; what the big dog barking in the yard did, we have yet to learn. The words as they stand express a single complex idea, not a thought; that is, they form a phrase, not a sentence. The phrase will become a sentence if we add an assertion: as, "The big bulldog barking in the yard frightened me;” or if we connect "dog" and "barking" by an asserting word like "is," which turns the implied action into an asserted action: as, "The big bulldog is barking in the yard." In either case we shall have two separate ideas, one of which is an assertion about the other. Query: What other asserting words might be used in the last sentence instead of "is"? EXERCISE 1. 1. Tell which of the following groups of words are phrases and which are sentences. Make sentences out of the phrases by adding appropriate asserting words: 1. The man in the moon. 2. The man in the moon came down too soon. 3. The boy in blue. 4. The boy reciting his lesson. 5. The boy in blue reciting his lesson. P 6. The boy reciting his lesson is my brother. 8. A primrose by the river's brim. A 9. A rolling stone gathers no moss. 10. The children playing in the street. P II. Vessels carrying coal. { 12. The apples hanging on the tree. P 13. Wounds made by words are hard to heal. S 14. Charles, seeing a crowd in the street. 15. The girl at the spring, having filled her pitcher. 16. To play football well. 2. Construct five phrases about things in the schoolroom, and show that they are not sentences. 3. Construct five sentences about things in the schoolroom, and show that they are sentences. 18. Sentences Classified.-Examine the sentences in the following conversation :— Donald: I found these big apples in grandfather's barn. Jack: Are there any more left? Helen: Aren't they beauties! You observe that, in the first sentence, Donald's thought is an assertion; in the second, Dorothy's thought is a request or a command; in the third, Jack's thought is a question; in the fourth, Helen's thought seems at first glance to be a question about the beauty of the apples; but a little reflection shows that this cannot be, since she already knows that the apples are beauties. As a matter of fact |