Exercise. I. Make two simple sentences about a horse. Combine these so as to form (1) a compound sentence, (2) a complex sentence. Is the one as good as the other?

2. Is the following a good, sensible compound sentence?

George was reading "The Deerslayer," and he had eaten his breakfast. 3. Is the following complex sentence better?

George, who had eaten his breakfast, was reading "The Deerslayer."

Exercise. The first sentence in each of the following groups is what kind of sentence? What kind of sentence is the second in each group? Which of each pair is the better one that is, which expresses the thought more sensibly and pointedly?

1. We are going to travel in Asia, and it is the largest continent in the world.

2. We are going to travel in Asia, which is the largest continent in the world.

3. The Chinese are our neighbors across the Pacific, and we should know about them.

4. Since the Chinese are our neighbors across the Pacific, we should know about them.

5. The strange people proved unusually interesting, and we became acquainted with them.

6. When we became acquainted with them, the strange people proved unusually interesting.

7. The principal gave the signal, and the game started.

8. When the principal gave the signal, the game started.

9. The peddler had often sold us tinware, and we never saw him after that spring.

10. Although the peddler had often sold us tinware, we never saw him after that spring.

Exercise. Make two simple sentences about each of the following persons or objects. Combine into compound sentences only those that make good sense so combined. Combine the others into complex or simple sentences, as seems to you best.

Frequently words are omitted from sentences when the meaning is clear without them. But in studying such sentences and the parts of which they consist, we need to supply these omitted words. Thus :

1. You are the boy I wish to see. (COMPLETED: You are the boy whom I wish to see.)

2. Thank you. (COMPLETED: I thank you.)

3. I saw he wanted me. (COMPLETED: I saw that he wanted me.) 4. He is a better football player than John. (COMPLETED: He is a better football player than John is.) ·

5. We went in single file, the guide first, Marion second, Herbert next, and little Philip and I bringing up the rear. (COMPLETED: We went in single file, the guide going first, Marion going second, Herbert going next, etc.)

6. I am monarch of all I survey. (COMPLETED: I am monarch of all that I survey.)

7. To-day in school; to-morrow to the woods. (COMPLETED: To-day I am in school; to-morrow I shall go to the woods.)

8. Close the door. (COMPLETED: You close the door.)

9. Let me in. (COMPLETED: You let me get in.)

10. While there, he met his nephew. (COMPLETED: While he was there, he met his nephew.)

COMPOSITION - VI

1. Variety in Expression

We have learned that sometimes simple sentences express best what we have to say, but that sometimes compound sentences are better, and that again complex sentences may be the best of all. Everything depends on the thought we wish to express.

Observe the difference between the series of simple sentences below and the rewritten passage following, which expresses the same thoughts but in a different form.

2. These soldiers were

1. There were once twenty-five tin soldiers. brothers. 3. They had all been made out of the same old tin spoon. 4. They lay in this box. 5. The lid was taken off the box. 6. They heard something. 7. The first thing was the words, "Tin soldiers!" 8. A little boy spoke these words. 9. He clapped his hands. was happy. II. The soldiers were his birthday present.

10. He

(a) There were once twenty-five tin soldiers. (b) They were brothers, for they had all been made out of the same old tin spoon. (c) When the lid was taken off the box in which they lay, the first thing they heard was the words,"Tin soldiers!" (d) A happy little boy, who clapped his hands, spoke these words, for the soldiers were his birthday present.

Oral Exercise. I. How is sentence b formed? Examine sentence c, and tell how it was made. Sentenced is a combination of which sentences?

2. Each of the following paragraphs consists of simple sentences. Observe how choppy each series of simple sentences is. Combine these sentences so as to make smoother, better, more readable paragraphs.

1. Each soldier was exactly like the rest. One, however, was different. He had only one leg. He had been cast last of all. There had not been quite enough tin to finish him. The other soldiers stood firmly on their two legs. He stood as firmly on his one. His fortunes became very remarkable.

2. The tin soldiers had been set up on a table. Several other toys were there. One attracted most attention. It was a pretty little paper castle. It had tiny windows. Through these one could see straight into the hall.

3. Little trees stood in front of the castle. These trees clustered around a little mirror. The mirror represented a lake. Swans of wax swam on the surface of this lake. It reflected their images.

4. Evening came. The tin soldiers were put in their box. The people in the house went to bed. Now the playthings began to play. They visited. They fought battles. They gave parties. rattled in their box. They wished to join the rest. lift the lid.

The tin soldiers They could not

5. The next morning came. The children got up. The one-legged tin soldier was placed on the window sill. The window was opened. The wind blew. The tin soldier fell head foremost to the street below. It was a tremendous fall. Over and over he turned in the air. At last he came to a stop. His cap and bayonet stuck fast between the paving stones. His one leg stood upright in the air.

2. More Exercises in Variety of Expression

Oral Exercise. 1. Improve the following paragraphs by combining some or all of the simple sentences in them to form compound or complex sentences:

There was once a merchant. He was very rich. He could have paved a whole street with gold. Even then he would have had enough left for a small alley. He did not do so. He knew the value of money better. He would not use it in this way. He was clever. Every shilling he put out brought him a crown. So it continued as long as he lived.

His son inherited his wealth. He lived a merry life with it. He went to a masquerade every night. He made kites out of five-pound notes. He threw pieces of gold into the sea instead of stones.

In this manner he soon lost all his money. At last hardly anything was left. A pair of slippers was left. An old dressing-gown was left. Four shillings were left. Now all his companions deserted him. They would not walk with him in the streets. One of them was very good-natured. He sent him an old trunk. He sent with it this message, Pack up! "Yes," he said, "it is all very well to say 'Pack up.'” But he had nothing left to pack. He seated himself in the trunk.

It was a very wonderful trunk. If any one pressed on the lock, the trunk could fly. He shut the lid. He pressed the lock. Away flew the trunk up the chimney. He was in it. It flew right up into the clouds. The bottom of the trunk cracked. He was in great fright. He feared the trunk might fall to pieces. He would have turned a tremendous somersault over the trees. However, he arrived safely in Turkey.

2. Improve the following paragraphs. Where it seems best to combine simple sentences into compound or complex ones, do so.

It was in the afternoon. The sun was going down. A mother sat at the door of a cottage. Her little boy sat at the door of the cottage. She talked to him about the Great Stone Face. They had but to lift their eyes to see it. There it was plainly to be seen. It was miles away. The sunshine brightened all its features.

There was a family of lofty mountains. A valley was there. It was a spacious valley. It contained a thousand inhabitants. Some of these good people dwelt in log huts. These were on steep and difficult hillsides. The black forest was all around them. Others had their homes in comfortable farmhouses. They cultivated the rich soil. The soil was rich on the gentle slopes or level surfaces of the valley. There were still others. These were congregated into populous villages. Here some wild, highland rivulet tumbled down from its birthplace. Its birthplace was in the upper mountains. This rivulet had been caught and tamed. Human cunning had caught and tamed it. It was compelled to turn the machinery of cotton factories. The inhabitants of this valley, in short, were