LESSON XVII.

THE OBJECT.-TRANSITIVE AND INTRANSITIVE

VERBS.

In the sentence, "Charles killed a fly," what word expresses the object that receives the action expressed by the verb ?

The word fly.

What do we call fly, in this sentence?

Fly is the OBJECT of the verb killed.

In the sentence, "Children love milk," what is the object of the verb love?

Milk.

What is the object of a verb?

The object of a verb is that which receives the

action expressed by the verb.

What is the object in each of the following sentences?

Bees make honey.

Mary kindled the fire.

My mother loves me.

Birds build nests.

I have broken my knife.

John's father scolded him.

In the last two sentences what are the objects ?

Me and him.

What part of speech are me and him?

Pronouns.

May a pronoun, then, be the object of a verb ?

It may.

In the sentence, "John sleeps," is there any object?

There is not.

Does the verb sleep admit an object after it?

It does not.

Into how many classes, then, may verbs be divided?
Into two classes;

I. TRANSITIVE verbs, or verbs that express an

act that may be done to an object.

II. INTRANSITIVE verbs, or verbs that do not express an act that may be done to an object. Are verbs that express simply a state of being, transitive or intransitive?

Verbs that express a state of being are intransitive.

Why?

Because they do not express any action at all. Is strike transitive or intransitive, and why? Strike is a transitive verb, because it admits an object after it. Thus we may say, "I strike a man;" in this sentence, man would be the object, and hence we find that strike is transitive.

Is live a transitive or intransitive verb ?

Live is an intransitive verb, because it expresses simply a state of being, and does not admit an ob ject after it.

Is sleep transitive or intransitive? jump? hurt? eat? dream? love? see? be? walk? run?

May any other part of speech besides a verb, have an object? Yes; a preposition may have an object.

In the sentence, "John is lying on the grass," what is the object of the preposition on?

Grass.

Make three short sentences similar to the one last given, in which there will be a preposition and its object.

How may you always find the object of a verb, or preposition? By putting what or whom after it; the answer to the question will be the object.

Give me an example. Tell me the object of the verb and preposition in this sentence, "The butcher killed a pig with a knife."

Put what after the verb-"The butcher killed what?" Answer, a pig; pig is the object of the

verb killed. Put what after the preposition-" With what?" Answer, a knife; knife is the object of the preposition with.

EXERCISE.

Complete the following sentences by inserting an object, where a dash occurs; either a noun or pronoun, as the sense may require.

her

4. A man by honesty and

of his companions.

5. Henry's father bought him a

and a

and renders

will always gain the

for a Christ

6. When danger is nigh, a hen gathers her

7. The fisherman is preparing to go to 8. In building houses, they use, 9. The mice have gnawed

in a

and

in this old

under

10. The American Indians are very skilful with the bow and arrow; they can hit a very small

With these weapons they often kill

at a

great

".

and other wild

11. With your spare

purchase books; read

and take good care of

profit by

12. My brother loves me, and I love

13. After we die, the grave will contain

our friends will remember

PERSONAL, RELATIVE, INTERROGATIVE, AND ADJECTIVE PRONOUNS.*

WHAT is a pronoun? (See Lesson IV., if you forget.) How many different classes of pronouns are there, and what are their names?

There are four classes of pronouns-Personal, Relative, Interrogative, and Adjective.

In the sentence, "I am tired," for what does the pronoun 1 stand?

For the name of the person speaking.

What kind of a pronoun is I?

A personal pronoun.

What is a personal pronoun ?

A personal pronoun is a word, which, being used in a sentence without the noun for which it stands, merely represents it, without introducing any additional idea respecting it.

Mention the personal pronouns.

The personal pronouns are as follows: I, my, mine, me, we, our, ours, us, thou, thy, thine, thee, you, your, yours, he, his, him, she, her, hers, it, its, they, their, theirs, them.

In the sentence, "The Romans, who were victorious, lost only

*Note. No allusion is made in this lesson to the Reflexive Pronouns, myself, thyself, &c., the Compound Relative what, or the Indefinite Relatives, whoever, whichever, &c., because a knowledge of them does not seem to be essential to the subject, and because the author feared that a consideration of these sub divisions might embarrass the pupil.

fifty men," to what word does the pronoun who relate; or, other words, who are said to have been victorious?

Romans.

in

Then, since the pronoun who relates to Romans, what kind of a pronoun shall we call it ?

A relative pronoun.

What is a relative pronoun ?

A relative pronoun is a word that relates to a noun or pronoun before it.

What is this noun or pronoun going before, to which the relative relates, called?

The antecedent.

In the sentence, "The boy who is idle will be unhappy," what is the relative, and what its antecedent?

Who is the relative, and boy is its antecedent.
Mention the relative pronouns.

The relative pronouns are who, whose, whom, which, that.

Is who always a relative pronoun ?

No; sometimes it does not relate to an antecedent, but is used to ask a question, as, "Who is there ?"

What kind of a pronoun is it then called?

An interrogative pronoun.

What is an interrogative pronoun ?

An interrogative pronoun is one that is used to

ask a question.

Mention the interrogative pronouns.

The interrogative pronouns are who, whose, whom, which, and what.

What mark always follows a sentence that contains an interrogative pronoun?

The Interrogation Point (?), which ought to be placed after every question.