176. If we wished to show that a clump of trees was the place where some boys were hiding, we might say,

The boys hid in the trees.
The boys hid under the trees.

The boys hid among the trees.

The boys hid behind the trees. The boys hid beyond the trees.

The only difference is in the prepositions in, under, among, etc. Read the sentences without them, and you will see that nobody could tell what the trees had to do with the hiding; but with the prepositions we see that the word “trees" can be used to modify “hid” in various ways; for it is one thing to hide under the trees, another to hide in the trees, and so on.

EXERCISE 163.

Select the phrases and tell what each one modifies. Thus : — "From Plymouth" is a phrase used like an adverb to modify the verb " sailed." 1. The Mayflower sailed from Plymouth.

2. Magellan's ship sailed around the globe.
3. Beautiful pearls are found in the sea.
4. The early settlers hunted for gold.
5. The star rested over Bethlehem.
6. The English settled along the coast.
7. We shall return through the valley.

8. My friends will come in the next train.
9. Garfield lived in Ohio during his boyhood.
10. No one should be condemned without a trial.

177. Using a phrase as an adjective, we might say,

The land around the grove.

The walk from the grove.

The shade of the grove.
The road to the grove.

The path through the grove.

Here we modify or explain the meaning of the nouns walk, land, shade, etc., by referring to the grove; but in order to do this we have to use a different preposition in each expression.

178. To show how one word can modify another, or what the meanings of two words have to do with each other, is to show the relation between them.

EXERCISE 164.

Select the phrases and tell what each one modifies. Thus :-
"Of Rome" is a phrase used as an adjective to modify the noun "city."
1. The city of Rome is the capital of Italy.

2. The road up the mountain is very rocky.
3. Goods for that firm were shipped yesterday.
4. The planet with the rings is Saturn.

5. Admission to college depends on attainments.
6. The town beyond Lexington is Concord.

7. Success without effort is impos ible.

8. The fort near the city was captured first.

9. Icebergs from the Arctic Ocean melt in the Gulf Stream.
10. Journeys into the interior are rarely made.

179. A Preposition is a relation-word used with a noun or a pronoun to make a phrase having the use of an adjective or an adverb.

The word "preposition" means what is placed before.

180. The noun or pronoun used with a preposition to make a phrase is called the Object of the preposition.

181. A Prepositional Phrase is one that contains a preposition and its object.

EXERCISE 165.

1. Select the prepositions in Exs. 163 and 164, and tell between what words each shows the relation. Thus :

"From" is a preposition, and shows the relation between its object "Plymouth' and the verb "sailed," which the phrase modifies.

2. Mention the prepositions with the object of each, and tell whether the phrase is used as an adjective or an adverb.

1. Birds in great numbers fly over this grove. 2. Some with blue plumage have dropped a handful of feathers for me. 3. Quails from the north meet jays from the south. 4. There are eggs in the nest near the vine. 5. The mother bird is mottled at the throat and along the breast. 6. A bluebird nests under the eaves.

182. Since prepositional phrases can be used wherever an adverb can be, we find them modifying not only nouns, pronouns, and verbs, but adjectives and adverbs also. Thus:

He was happy to excess,

or He was excessively happy. They are ripe before the time, or They are prematurely ripe.

In other cases it is harder to find what will take the place of the phrase. As:

This breeze is fresh from the ocean.

We are weary with working.

Here the four phrases modify adjectives as adverbs would.

EXERCISE 166.

Point out the prepositional phrases, and tell whether they modify adjectives or adverbs.

1. Those trees are heavy with fruit. | 5. She is insane from anxiety. 2. You are too cautious for me. 6. Shall you be absent from home? 3. The children were happy be- 7. We found rosebuds pink at the

2. Here are the most common prepositions. Use each one in a

VII. CONJUNCTIONS.

183. We have learned that a preposition connects two other words by showing what one of them has to do with the other.

We come now to words that connect in a different way.

In the sentence,

The sun sets and the moon appears,

how many verbs are there? What is the subject of each? Read the sentence, omitting the word and.

Here, then, are two sentences joined or tied together as one sentence. They might have been printed thus:

The sun sets. The moon appears.

So we might unite three or more sentences into one; as, The sun sets, (and) the moon appears, and the stars come out, or we might connect two sentences in different ways; as,

for but

the stars appear.

the stars appear.

The sun has set,
The sun has set, therefore the stars appear.

And seems to join the sentences together, as if they were about one subject; for shows that one statement gives a reason for making the other; and so on with other words of this sort, such as but, therefore, or, nor, hence, however.

184. There are not very many of these words, and as they all connect or join together what we say, they are called Conjunctions.

They all denote different relations between the expres sions they connect, by showing what the connected parts. have to do with each other. But, unlike prepositions, they always connect expressions of the same sort.

EXERCISE 168.

What sentences have been united to make the following?

1. The birds have come and the flowers appear.

2. The ocean is rough for the breakers roar.

3. My pears are ripe and I am glad.

4. Some are very large but they are not yellow.

5. You cannot have tried earnestly or you would have succeeded.

6. The sky seems clear yet no stars are visible.

7. We cannot get money nor have we any food.

8. The king must win or he must forfeit his crown forever.

185. Such sentences as the preceding differ from those we have been studying; for they are made up of two or more simple sentences combined. Instead of one predicate and the subject of it, they have two or more predicates each with a subject of its own.

EXERCISE 169.

Copy the sentences in the preceding exercise. Place vertical lines before and after each conjunction, and mark each subject and each verb. Enclose adjectives and phrases that modify the subject, in curves; enclose adverbs and phrases that modify the verb, in brackets. Insert the comma where it belongs. Thus : —

(Kind) friends have left us, but they will return [soon].

186. Sentences made in this way, by uniting two of more simple sentences, are called compound.

187. A Simple Sentence is a sentence that contains only one subject and one predicate.

188. A Compound Sentence is one formed by uniting independent sentences.

The sentences united to form a compound sentence are called its members.