Plain English. Marian Wharton
quotation:
The Dream of Labor: Ours is not the cause of one class, of one sex, of one tribe, of one city, of one state, of one continent.
It is the wish for a better world where Man shall be Man; where the beast shall become subdued; where everything shall lead to complete development; where the good of each shall be bound up in the good of all; where all shall feel the sorrows of each and shall run to his rescue.
A glimpse of this ideal takes us into the Land of Promise, where peace and plenty shall reign supreme; where brothers shall no longer battle among themselves, but for one another; where the atmosphere shall be laden with love, the love that saves; where the hate that kills shall be unknown; where heart and brain shall work together and shall make life better and more complete; where the fullness of life shall be for all and where men and women shall be as happy at their work as little children at their play.
The mere glimpse into that land makes life worth living, makes work worth doing, makes dreams worth dreaming, gives us hope and faith—the faith we need in the labor for our cause, the faith which shall help us win.—Oscar Leonard.
Exercise 4
We have found that there are a number of words in English which may be used either as nouns or verbs, depending upon the function they serve in the sentence. In the following sentences underscore the nouns with a single line, the verbs with two lines:
1 They man the boats.
2 The man has a boat.
3 The women pass this way.
4 They held the pass for hours.
5 Little children work in the mines.
6 The work of the world is done by machinery today.
7 The armies will cross the bridge.
8 He built a cross of rude stones.
9 The leopard cannot change its spots.
10 We will force a change in the law.
Exercise 5
In the following poem, mark every noun and every verb and verb phrase. You will find the verb phrases in several places divided by the word not, as in I do not obey. Do obey is the verb phrase. We will learn to what part of speech not belongs a little later.
I DO NOT OBEY, I THINK.
"Captain, what do you think," I asked,
"Of the part your soldiers play?"
The Captain answered, "I do not think—
I do not think, I obey."
"Do you think your conscience was meant to die,
And your brains to rot away?"
The Captain answered, "I do not think—
I do not think, I obey."
"Do you think you should shoot a patriot down,
And help a tyrant slay?"
The Captain answered, "I do not think—
I do not think, I obey."
"Then if this is your soldier's code," I cried,
"You're a mean, unmanly crew;
And with all your feathers and gilt and braid,
I am more of a man than you;
"For whatever my lot on earth may be
And whether I swim or sink,
I can say with pride, 'I do not obey—
I do not obey, I think.'"
—Ernest Crosby.
SPELLING
LESSON 2
The twenty-six letters in the English alphabet are divided into vowels and consonants. A vowel is a letter which represents a sound of the human voice but slightly interrupted by the vocal organs. The vowels are a, e, i, o and u. All of the remaining letters of the alphabet are consonants. A consonant is a letter which represents a sound of the human voice greatly obstructed by the vocal organs.
Consonant is from the Latin con, meaning with, and sono—I sound. So it means literally I sound with.
The consonants are produced by union of the breath with the vocal organs. The consonant sounds are so called because they are always "sounded with" a vowel; they are used only in combination with vowels in forming words or syllables.
In English a consonant alone never forms a word or a syllable. Sound the different consonants b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, x and z, by themselves and you will see how the sound of the breath is obstructed or changed by the use of the vocal organs—the lips, the tongue, the teeth, etc.—in making these various sounds.
W and y are sometimes vowels and sometimes consonants. W and y are vowels when they are used with another vowel representing a vowel sound as in awe, new, joy, eye, etc. Y is sometimes used as a vowel by itself as in by, cry, etc. W and y are consonants when they are used at the beginning of a syllable or before a vowel in the same syllable as in wine, twine, yield and year.
Look up the meaning of the words in this week's lesson. Master the spelling and use them in sentences of your own construction.
Monday
Reason
Evolution
Justice
Thorough
Beauty
Tuesday
Assertive
Review
Surprise
Basis
Separate
Wednesday
Interrogative
Period
Capital
Capitol
Function
Thursday
Example
Contain
Imperative
Question
Speech
Friday
Method
Various
Familiar
Industry
Alphabet
Saturday
Travel
Sense
Cents