A clause is used in the same way as a phrase, and often performs the office of a simple part of speech.

A clause that modifies the meaning of a verb is an adverbial clause.

They stood uncovered when the procession passed.

Curfew rings as the sun goes down.

A clause that describes a noun or a pronoun is an adjective clause. The house that was destroyed belonged to my father.

He who loses his spirits loses all.

A clause used as the subject or object of a verb is a noun clause. Because one does not know, is no excuse.

He never knew how he reached home.

Exercise 1. In the following sentences. name the clauses and tell what kind they are:

1. The sun as it rose warmed the earth.

2. Everybody wondered how they lived.

3. The tide as it went out carried off the boats. 4. It is hard to know when one has said enough. 5. We slept when we were tired.

6. The ships come in when the tide is full.

7. Birds that give us music should never be killed. 8. How we should ever find the path was a puzzle. 9. We ate heartily whenever we were hungry.

10. The river rose when the dam broke.

11. He that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast.

Exercise 2. Fill the following blanks with adjective clauses:

Write two sentences with adverbial clauses.
Write two sentences with noun clauses.

LESSON 23.

THE COMPLEX SENTENCE

He must rise at five.

He who would thrive must rise at five.

What kind of sentence is the first sentence? What kind of clause is introduced into it to make the second sentence? When a subordinate clause is introduced into a simple sentence to explain or modify the principal clause, the sentence becomes a complex sentence.

A complex sentence is a sentence containing one principal clause and one or more subordinate clauses.

The principal clause expresses the leading idea. The subordinate clauses are explanatory of the principal clauses.

Exercise 1. Change these sentences into complex sentences by introducing an adverbial clause:

Exercise 2.-Change these sentences into complex sentences by introducing adjective clauses:

Exercise 3. Make complex sentences from these suggestions by introducing noun clauses:

Exercise 4.- Change these sentences from their present form to simple sentences, or to complex sentences, or to both when possible, as, I saw a man and he was drunk, should be I saw a drunken man or, I saw a man who was drunk.

1. I ate an apple and it was spoiled.

2. I rode a horse and he was lame.

3. He came from the store and he had been drinking there.

4. A man loves his country and he will die for it.

5. I wrote you a letter and it was a long one.

6. We cooked breakfast and ate it hastily.

7. We live in Alabama and it is a great State.

8. The men live by farming and it is a good business.

9. We entered the palace and it was richly decorated.

10. The soldiers lay down to sleep and they needed it much. 11. The engine puffed up the hill and it was very steep.

12. We enjoyed our rest for it had been earned.

13. Everybody was at the banquet and it was long and tedious. 14. We study grammar because it is valuable.

15. They read "Ivanhoe" and they found it a noble story.

16. The pictures were bought and they were beautiful.

17. A terrible accident occurred and it is never to be forgotten.

18. A yell was uttered and it was blood curdling.

19. Naples is the largest city of Italy and it is also the most beautiful.

20. Mont Blanc is the monarch of mountains and it is hard to climb.

LESSON 24. - POSITION OF MODIFYING WORDS

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In the construction of sentences it is necessary to place the modifying words, phrases, and clauses near the words they modify, or much confusion will arise. If I say, I rode a horse wearing red trousers, it means the horse wore the trousers, but if I say, Wearing red trousers, I rode a horse, it means I wore the trousers.

Exercise 1.- Reconstruct these sentences so that the modifying words will stand in their proper relation:

1. I saw an account of his conduct in the New York papers.

2. I saw six ducks riding a bicycle in the park.

3. I hired a man to build a fence with a glass eye.
4. A bird was shot by a little boy with a red topknot.
5. An office is wanted by a man thirty feet long.
6. The little dog followed an old man panting furiously.
7. Running from under the house I was bitten by a dog.
8. Seizing a glass full of rage he threw it in her face.

9. For sale, some vinegar by a dealer kept in a barrel for years.
10. I have a new house built by a negro painted red all over.
11. There goes a horse ridden by a lady with three white feet.
12. I saw a man cutting wood with false teeth.

13. Did you ever see an iceberg on board a ship?

14. I saw a trout, caught by a boy eighteen inches long.

15. For sale, a piano, by a lady about to travel in a walnut case. 16. One evening we counted twenty meteors sitting on our porch. 17. Wanted, a pony for a boy weighing about five hundred pounds. 18. The oak tree was planted by my grandfather whose limbs covered half an acre.

19. The wagon was driven to town by my brother full of turnips and cabbages.

20. Lost, a small picture, representing Venus and Adonis on the Brooklyn Bridge.

21. Wanted, a room by a single man, twenty feet wide and thirteen feet long.

22. I am looking for a boy to take care of a pair of horses of good moral character.

Exercise 2. What is the difference in the meaning of these sentences?

1. He told me at home what happened.

He told me what happened at home.

2. The man whom you saw married my cousin.
The man married my cousin whom you saw.
3. The horses in the yard belong to my brother.
The horses belong to my brother in the yard.