Exercise 2.

Write a short composition about Thanks

giving Day and underscore all nouns and pronouns that are in the nominative case.

The subject of a verb is in the nominative case.

LESSON 38.-MORE ABOUT THE NOMINATIVE CASE

A noun is also in the nominative case:

1. When it denotes the person addressed. It is then called the nominative of address.

James, where have you been?

Where goest thou, master?

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2. When it is not related to the other parts of the sentence, (a) if used with a participle (see page 156), it is called the nominative absolute; (b) if used without a verb in an exclamation, it is called the exclamatory nominative. (a) The hour being late, we retired. Dinner being announced, we arose. (b) The foe! they come. The holly! oh, twine it with bay.

3. After certain verbs, as be, become, seem, and others, when the noun refers to the same thing as the subject. It is then called the predicate nominative.

Mary is a child.

She seems a woman.

Edward became king.
He was made ruler.

4. When it is in apposition with a noun in the nominative case. (See page 84.)

Exercise 1. Name the nouns that are nominative subject, nominative of address, nominative absolute, exclamatory nominative, and predicate nominative:

1. My fortune being wasted, my children became beggars.

2. Friends, Romans, countrymen! Lend me your ears.

3. The soldiers of Emperor William were giants.

4. The jury having agreed, the verdict was rendered.

5. Come into the garden, Maud.

6. Ye crags and peaks, I am with you once again.
7. He was considered a gentleman.

8. Flow gently, sweet Afton.

9. Sir, I would rather be right than be president.

10. The argument being exhausted, let us stand by our guns.
11. He was elected captain, the men having all voted.

12. Thou, too, sail on, O ship of State.

13. His health gone, his money spent, he was a sad wreck.
14. Oh, sleep! it is a gentle thing.

15. Victoria became Queen of England.

16. Bright star! would I were steadfast as thou art. Exercise 2. Write two sentences illustrating the nominative subject; two illustrating the nominative of address; two illustrating the nominative absolute; two illustrating the exclamatory nominative; two illustrating the predicate nominative.

When we say John's hat, what word indicates to whom the hat belongs? Nouns like this, ending with an apostrophe and an 8 ('s), or with an apostrophe only, and indicating possession or close relationship, are said to be in the possessive case.

A noun is in the possessive case when it indicates possession or close relationship to another noun or a pronoun.

The apostrophe ('), or the apostrophe and s ('s) is the sign of the possessive case.

Ladies' shoes.

My father's house.

1. In the singular number nouns add an apostrophe and an 8. ('s) to form the possessive case.

The earth's axis.

The boy's knife.

The ocean's tides.

Mr. Smith's store.

2. When the plural number ends in s, nouns add the

apostrophe only.

Boys' knives.

Birds' feathers.

Girls' hats.

Two days' journey.

3. When the plural number does not end in 8, the possessive case is formed as in the singular number.

Men's coats.

Children's hats.

Women's bonnets.
The oxen's yoke.

Exercise 1. Name the nouns in the possessive case in these sentences and tell why the apostrophe is so placed:

1. The moon's surface is cold.

2. Ten years' imprisonment was the man's sentence.
3. The cannon's mouth is closed forever.
4. The strata's ore was rich in gold.
5. The women's dresses were elegant.
6. In my father's house are many mansions.
7. The Indians' faces are reddish brown.
8. Man's extremity is God's opportunity.
9. Girls' ways and boys' ways are different.
10. He went on two days' journey to the desert.
11. The boys' lessons were hard.

12. The children's toys were lost.

13. Rabbits' ears are longer than goats' tails.

14. The earth's diameter is about eight thousand miles.
15. The oceans' tides are affected by the moon.

16. He went to Mr. Brown's store.

Exercise 2. Copy these words and place the apostrophe where it belongs:

1. My brothers hat
2. My fathers house
3. Ladies shoes
4. Three days sail
5. Misses bonnets
6. Mens apartments

7. The oceans waves
8. Six years hard toil
9. Mr. Parks store

10. Birds wings

11. The moons appearance
12. The suns rays

A few singular nouns that end with an s sound generally add the apostrophe only.

For goodness' sake.

For conscience' sake.

The usual custom, however, is to add 's even when the singular noun ends with an 8 sound.

Charles's gun.

James's ball.

The princess's order.

When several words taken together form one general subject, as in compound words, or in double subjects, etc., the last word only takes the apostrophe and s.

My father-in-law's store.
Cicero, the orator's, life.

Beaumont and Fletcher's works.
General Washington's army.

The possessive relation is often expressed by the preposition of and the noun.

The beauty of the landscape (for "the landscape's beauty").
The children of my sister (for "my sister's children”).

NOTE. Sometimes, as in the first illustration, the prepositional form is more euphonious. At other times it is used simply for variety. The use of the apostrophe in connection with the preposition of, as in "The beauty of the landscape's," "The store of my uncle's," is wrong.

Exercise 1. Copy these sentences and place the apostrophe where it belongs, or omit 's where it is wrong: 1. Daniel Websters orations were masterpieces. 2. A two weeks vacation is long enough.

3. Demosthenes, the orators, speeches were powerful.
4. The King of Englands rule is far extended.
5. General Grants army was very large.

6. My sister-in-laws husband was ill.
7. I remember the house of my uncle's.

8. I used the room of my brother's.

9. The horse of my neighbor's is dangerous. 10. He did it for conscience sake.

11. I saw Charles sisters dog up town.

12. Cicero, the Romans orations were in Latin.

Exercise 2. Change these phrases into possessive forms:

1. The novels of Charles Dickens.

2. The height of the mountain.

3. The deck of the ocean steamer.

4. The residence of the Prince of Wales.

5. The mouth of the lion.

6. The store of Lee & Brown.

7. The dress of Constance.

8. The house of Mr. Jones.

9. For the sake of goodness.

10. The orders of General Grant, the commander in chief.

11. The plays of Shakespeare.

12. The writings of Bulwer, the novelist.

13. The poems of Henry Timrod, the Carolinian.

14. The great height of Niagara Falls.

RULE.

A noun that indicates belonging to and is written with an apostrophes, is in the possessive case.

LESSON 41.- THE OBJECTIVE CASE

The water covered the earth.

The leaves fall from the trees.

In the first sentence the word earth indicates what is acted upon, and is the object of the verb covered. Nouns