(a) He lost the game. (b) I gave the book to you to give to her. (c) He and I have played together often. (e) She came home with me. (f) Mr. George bought the pony for you three boys. (g) I told you not to go. XIII. ADJECTIVES 1 The boy questioned me with his eyes. The boy questioned me with his two hungry, wistful, blue eyes. From which of the above sentences do you get a better picture of the boy's eyes? Why? Which words are added in the second sentence to describe the noun "eyes"? Which word tells how many eyes? A word joined to a noun or pronoun to limit or describe it, is called an adjective. Different Things that Adjectives Do Some adjectives, such as "the," "this," "that," "first," serve to point out. The book: "The serves to point out book. That girl: "That" serves to point out which girl. 1 Note to the teacher: Much interesting supplementary work is suggested in your Manual, page 186. Some adjectives tell how much, or how many. More gold: "More" tells how much gold. Some adjectives describe. Soft, white, feathery flakes of snow. "white," and " feathery "describe the Here are several adjectives that may be used to describe hair: Soft, coarse, fine, dark, light, fair, black, white, golden, brown, gray, curly, straight, rough, smooth, combed, uncombed, tangled, matted, wavy. Can you add any adjectives to this list? 1. Write a list of adjectives that might be used to describe eyes. 2. Write a list of adjectives that might be used to describe lips. Sometimes the description of an adjective is emphasized, or is made more vivid, by a comparison. It was cold. It was as cold as winter. It was as cold as Greenland. The coldness of the second and third sentences is much stronger and more vivid than that of the first. It may almost make us shiver to think of winter and of Greenland. So the idea of heat may be emphasized and made more vivid. It was a hot day. It was as hot as midsummer. It was as hot as a furnace, or an oven. In which of the above sentences do you feel the heat most? Why? If we would be sure that a comparison will serve its purpose, we must use objects of comparison that are well known and that are distinguished by the quality compared. If you had never seen or heard of a furnace or an oven, the comparison above would mean nothing to you; if you have been pained or burned by the heat of a furnace or an oven, you actually feel the force of this comparison. Our language is full of comparisons. Here are some that are often used: XV. MAKING ORIGINAL COMPARISONS By overuse, comparisons may lose their force. New, original comparisons are frequently made by interesting speakers and writers; the newness of their comparisons helps to make their language interesting. Try making original comparisons by filling the blanks below. XVI. EXPLAINING AND DESCRIBING BY COMPARISON 1. A comparison may sometimes be used to make clear the meaning of an adjective rather than to emphasize it. For example, if you do not know the color, "cerulean," it would help you to be told that it is like the sky. In order to have a comparison make clear an adjective not understood, the hearer or reader (1) must know the object compared, and (2) must know and think of the particular quality of that object which is to make clear the meaning of the adjective that he does not understand. This is illustrated in the following story: Questions of a Blind Man A man blind from his birth asked one who could see, "What is the color of milk?" The latter replied, "The color of milk is white like paper." The blind man asked, "Does white, then, rustle in the hands like paper? The man who could see replied, "No, it is simply white like a rabbit." The blind man then asked, 66 soft like a rabbit?" Then is it downy and The man who could see replied, "No, white is a color exactly like snow." |