3. Thank you good sir I owe you one 4. Come nymph demure with mantle blue 5. My friend have you learned where Webster the statesman lived? 6. Good-morning sir; I hope you are well 7. Children you are now dismissed 8. Come boys let us go 9. Are you ready soldiers? Let us follow 10. I cannot my dear sir do what you desire RULE 11. Absolute Construction.-Words placed in the Nominative Case Absolute are, with their accompanying words, separated from the remainder of the sentence by commas. Ex.-"The war having ended, we were dismissed." EXERCISE. Punctuate the following where necessary: 1. We having reached the bridge the enemy fired upon us 2. All having completed their task they were dismissed at once 3. Admitting your arguments does that settle the question 4. Generally speaking your position is correct 5. Cæsar having crossed the Rubicon Pompey prepared for battle 6. Having nothing else to do we went fishing 7. The time being precious we should expend it wisely RULE 12. Omission of the Verb.-When in a compound sentence the verb is omitted in clauses following the first, a comma takes its place. Ex.—“ Homer was the greater genius; Virgil, the better artist." EXERCISE. Punctuate the following where necessary : 1. To err is human; to forgive divine 2. Some books are to be tasted; others to be swallowed; and some few to be chewed and digested Knowledge the wing wherewith we fly to heaven 4. Power reminds you of weakness; permanency of change, life of death 5. From law arises security; from security curiosity; from curiosity knowledge RULE 13. Logical Subject.- When the logical or complete subject ends with a verb of the same form as the predicate verb, or consists of parts subdivided by commas, it is separated from the predicate by a comma. Ex.—“They who hesitate, fail.” "Wheat, barley, and other grains, are the chief products." EXERCISE. Punctuate the following where necessary : 1. Officer soldier friend and foe were all buried together 2. Whatever purifies the heart fortifies it 3. Whoever breaks pays 4. What little money I had I lost 5. A log-rolling a quilting or a wedding was a time of general festivity 6. My friends neighbors and associates all deserted me RULE 14. Quotations. A short quotation, or an expression resembling a quotation, is preceded by a comma. Ex.-Bacon says, "Knowledge is power." The question now is, How shall we find a remedy? Note.-If the quotation depends directly on the word which precedes it, no comma is required; as, 1. The soldiers raised the cry of "Down with the invaders!" EXERCISE. Punctuate the following where necessary : 1. Hang out your banners on the walls; 3. "The book of nature" said he "is open before you" 4. The speaker said "Let us not raise that question at present" 5. His reply was "Let them come if they dare" RULE 15. Numeral Figures.- When any numbers, except dates, are expressed by figures consisting of more than four characters, they are separated by commas into groups of three, beginning at the right. Ex. "The population of Boston, in 1880, was 390,406." EXERCISE. Punctuate the following where necessary : 1. The number of square miles in Pennsylvania is 45215 2. The population of New York City in 1880 was 1206299 3. Alabama has an area of 52250 square miles, while Texas has an area of 265780 square miles 4. The cotton crop of Texas in the year 1880 was 1118000 bales RULE 16. Ambiguity.-A comma is sometimes needed to prevent ambiguity. Thus, in the sentence, "I woke, and thought upon my dream," the omission of the comma after "woke" would convey the meaning that "I woke upon my dream and thought upon my dream." EXERCISE. Punctuate the following where necessary : 1. Talent is surrounded with dangers and beauty with temptation 2. Books and study only teach the proper use of books 3. To assume that a person is guilty of an offence because appearances happen to be against him is manifestly unjust Punctuate the following where necessary : 1. To state my views fully I will begin at the beginning. 2. He did that which he should have done. 3. At times like these when one is excited he forgets what he says 4. His stories which made everybody laugh were often made to order 5. Sink or swim live or die survive or perish I give my hand and heart to this vote 6. Admission fifty cents 7. As soon as his declaration was known the whole nation was wild with delight. 8. He had a hard gray and sullen face piercing black eyes under bushy gray eyebrows thin lips and square jaw. 9. There was a lock on the door but the key was gone. 10. The colleges the clergy the lawyers the wealthy merchants were against us. 11. I remain sir your obedient servant. 12. Returning to the question let me add a word or two. 13. Now let us settle this question. 14. The question however has been settled. 15. However the question may be decided it will be to our advantage. 16. Brave not rash is the true hero. 17. Mohammed the founder of Islamism did not hesitate to work with his hands. 18. The island on which the city stands was sold for a few dollars. 19. Herodotus was the founder of history or rather of profane history. 20. Love not sleep lest thou come to poverty. THE SEMICOLON (;). The Semicolon is used to separate parts of sentences less closely connected than those separated by commas. RULE 1. Parts of Sentences.-A semicolon should be placed between the parts of a sentence when the subdivisions of these parts are separated by commas. Ex.—“Our first work is to lay the foundation; our second, to build the superstructure." Note. When the members are lengthy, they are sometimes separated by a semicolon, though no commas are used; as, "So many hours must I take my rest; So many hours must I contemplate." EXERCISE. Punctuate the following where necessary : 1. Human happiness has no perfect security but freedom freedom, none but virtue and virtue, none but knowledge. 2. Man passes away his name perishes from record and recollection his history is a tale that is told, and his very monument becomes a ruin. 3. A salad should be as to its contents multifarious as to its proportions an artistic harmony as to its flavor of a certain pungent taste. 4. Without dividing he destroyed party without corrupting he made a venal age unanimous. 5. The wide the unbounded prospect lies before us But shadows clouds and darkness rest upon it. RULE 2. A General Term.-A general term having several particulars in apposition may be separated from the particulars by a semicolon. Ex.-"Nouns have three persons; First, Second, and Third." Note. Some authors prefer to use a dash, or a comma and a dash, instead of the semicolon; as, "Nouns have three persons,―First, Second, and Third.” |