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Traditions Warriner s Handbook 0 Introductory Course
Teachers Edition Grade 6 Holt [Holt] Digital Instant
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Author(s): HOLT [HOLT]
ISBN(s): 9780030990359, 0030990351
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 Introductory Course

Grammar • Usage • Mechanics • Sentences

TEACHER’S EDITION
NAT_GUM_Hbk_ATE06_FM_T02-T15 3/30/07 11:13 AM Page T2

AUUT
THHO
ORR JOHN E. WARRINER pioneered by Mr. Warriner was distinctive, and the editorial staff of
A
taught for thirty-two years in junior and Holt, Rinehart and Winston have worked diligently to retain the
senior high schools and in college. He was a high school English unique qualities of his pedagogy in the Holt Handbook. John
teacher when he developed the original organizational structure for Warriner also co-authored the English Workshop series and edited
his classic English Grammar and Composition series. The approach Short Stories: Characters in Conflict.

Copyright © 2008 by Holt, Rinehart and Winston

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publisher.

Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be mailed to the following address:
Permissions Department, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 10801 N. MoPac Expressway, Building 3, Austin,
Texas 78759.

Acknowledgments and other credits appear on pages 479 and 480, which are an extension of the copyright page.

HOLT and the “Owl Design” are trademarks licensed to Holt, Rinehart and Winston, registered in the
United States of America and/or other jurisdictions.

WARRINER’S HANDBOOK is a trademark of Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

Printed in the United States of America

If you have received these materials as examination copies free of charge, Holt, Rinehart and Winston retains
title to the materials and they may not be resold. Resale of examination copies is strictly prohibited.

Possession of this publication in print format does not entitle users to convert this publication, or any portion
of it, into electronic format.

ISBN 978-0-03-099035-9
ISBN 0-03-099035-1
1 2 3 4 5 6 043 11 10 09 08 07

T2
 CONTENTS IN BRIEF
About This Book
T E AC H I N G
RESOURCES John Warriner: In His Own Words . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . T16
To Our Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . T19
Teaching Strands: Connecting Grammar and Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . T22
Essays on Teaching Grammar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . T24
Overview of the Holt Handbook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . T46
Instructional Resources: Chapter by Chapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . T58

Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics

PART 1
Grammar 1 The Sentence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2 Parts of Speech Overview: Noun, Pronoun, Adjective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
3 Parts of Speech Overview: Verb, Adverb, Preposition, Conjunction,
Interjection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
4 The Phrase and the Clause . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
5 Complements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Usage 6 Agreement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
7 Using Verbs Correctly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
8 Using Pronouns Correctly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
9 Using Modifiers Correctly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
10 A Glossary of Usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Mechanics 11 Capital Letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
12 Punctuation: End Marks, Commas, Semicolons, Colons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
13 Punctuation: Underlining (Italics), Quotation Marks, Apostrophes, Hyphens . . . 288
14 Spelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
15 Correcting Common Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346

Sentences
PART 2
16 Writing Effective Sentences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384
17 Sentence Diagramming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 412

Resources
PART 3
▲▲▲

The History of English . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430

Test Smarts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 434
Grammar at a Glance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 440

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 466
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479
Photo and Illustration Credits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 480

Contents T3
NAT_GUM_Hbk_ATE06_FM_T02-T15 12/13/01 3:51 PM Page T4

CONTENTS

Teaching About This Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . T16

Resources John Warriner: In His Own Words . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . T16
To Our Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . T19
Teaching Strands: Connecting Grammar and Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . T22
Essays on Teaching Grammar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . T24
Dispelling the Myths About Grammar Instruction, by Amy Benjamin . . . . . . . . . . . T24
Grammar: Why Teach It?, by Brock Haussamen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . T32
Getting Down to Basics: Using What Students Already Know, by Rei Noguchi . . . . T37
Raising Expectations: The Importance of Teaching Grammar to ESL Students,
by Billy Boyar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . T41
Overview of the Holt Handbook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . T46
Instructional Resources: Chapter by Chapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . T58

PART 1 Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

The Parts of a Sentence

CHAPTER
Subject and Predicate, Kinds of Sentences ......................2

DIAGNOSTIC PREVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
A. Identifying Sentences
B. Identifying Simple Subjects and Simple Predicates
C. Punctuating and Classifying Sentences by Purpose

SENTENCE OR SENTENCE FRAGMENT? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

SUBJECT AND PREDICATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

The Subject . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
The Predicate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Finding the Subject . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Compound Subject and Compound Verb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

KINDS OF SENTENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

CHAPTER REVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
A. Identifying Sentences
B. Identifying the Complete Subject and the Complete Predicate
C. Identifying Simple Subjects and Simple Predicates
D. Punctuating and Classifying Sentences by Purpose
Writing Application: Using Sentence Variety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

T4 Contents
NAT_GUM_Hbk_ATE06_FM_T02-T15 12/7/01 7:00 PM Page T5

Parts of Speech Overview

CHAPTER Noun, Pronoun, Adjective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

DIAGNOSTIC PREVIEW: Identifying Nouns, Pronouns, and Adjectives . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

THE NOUN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Proper Nouns and Common Nouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

THE PRONOUN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Personal Pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Demonstrative Pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Indefinite Pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Interrogative Pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Relative Pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

THE ADJECTIVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Proper Adjectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Demonstrative Adjectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

CHAPTER REVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
A. Identifying Nouns, Pronouns, and Adjectives
B. Identifying Common and Proper Nouns
C. Identifying Pronouns
D. Identifying Proper and Demonstrative Adjectives
E. Identifying Nouns, Pronouns, and Adjectives
Writing Application: Using Pronouns in a Plot Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Parts of Speech Overview

CHAPTER
Verb, Adverb, Preposition, Conjunction, Interjection . . . . . . . . 48

DIAGNOSTIC PREVIEW: Identifying Verbs, Adverbs, Prepositions,

Conjunctions, and Interjections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

THE VERB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Main Verbs and Helping Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Action Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Linking Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Transitive and Intransitive Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

THE ADVERB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
The Position of Adverbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

THE PREPOSITION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
The Prepositional Phrase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Preposition or Adverb? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Contents T5
NAT_GUM_Hbk_ATE06_FM_T02-T15 12/7/01 7:00 PM Page T6

THE CONJUNCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

THE INTERJECTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

DETERMINING PARTS OF SPEECH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

CHAPTER REVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
A. Identifying Verb Phrases and Helping Verbs
B. Identifying Action and Linking Verbs
C. Identifying Transitive and Intransitive Verbs
D. Identifying Adverbs and the Words They Modify
E. Identifying Prepositions and Their Objects
F. Identifying Verbs, Adverbs, Prepositions, Conjunctions, and Interjections
G. Determining Parts of Speech
Writing Application: Using Verbs in a List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

The Phrase and the Clause

Prepositional Phrases, Independent and Subordinate
CHAPTER Clauses, Sentence Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

DIAGNOSTIC PREVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
A. Identifying Adjective Phrases and Adverb Phrases
B. Identifying Independent Clauses and Subordinate Clauses
C. Identifying Types of Sentences

THE PHRASE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Adjective Phrases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Adverb Phrases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

THE CLAUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Independent Clauses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Subordinate Clauses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

SENTENCE STRUCTURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Simple Sentences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Compound Sentences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Complex Sentences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Compound-Complex Sentences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

CHAPTER REVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

A. Identifying Adjective and Adverb Phrases
B. Identifying Independent and Subordinate Clauses
C. Identifying Clauses
D. Identifying Types of Sentences
Writing Application: Using Prepositional Phrases in a Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

T6 Contents
NAT_GUM_Hbk_ATE06_FM_T02-T15 12/7/01 7:01 PM Page T7

Complements
CHAPTER
Direct and Indirect Objects, Subject Complements . . . . . . . . . .104

DIAGNOSTIC PREVIEW: Identifying Complements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

RECOGNIZING COMPLEMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

OBJECTS OF VERBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Direct Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Indirect Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

SUBJECT COMPLEMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Predicate Nominatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Predicate Adjectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

CHAPTER REVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

A. Identifying Direct and Indirect Objects
B. Identifying Subject Complements
C. Identifying Complements
Writing Application: Using Complements in a Paragraph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Agreement
CHAPTER
Subject and Verb, Pronoun and Antecedent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

DIAGNOSTIC PREVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

A. Choosing Verbs That Agree in Number with Their Subjects
B. Choosing Pronouns That Agree with Their Antecedents

NUMBER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

AGREEMENT OF SUBJECT AND VERB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

PROBLEMS IN AGREEMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Phrases Between Subject and Verb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Indefinite Pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Compound Subjects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Subject After the Verb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
The Contractions Don’t and Doesn’t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

AGREEMENT OF PRONOUN AND ANTECEDENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

CHAPTER REVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

A. Choosing Verbs That Agree in Number with Their Subjects
B. Changing the Number of Subjects and Verbs
C. Proofreading for Errors in Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement
Writing Application: Using Agreement in Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

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Using Verbs Correctly

CHAPTER
Principal Parts, Regular and Irregular Verbs, Tense ......... 146

DIAGNOSTIC PREVIEW: Revising Incorrect Verb Forms in Sentences . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

PRINCIPAL PARTS OF VERBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

Regular Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Irregular Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150

TENSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Progressive Forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
The Verb Be . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Consistency of Tense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164

SIX CONFUSING VERBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

Sit and Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Rise and Raise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Lie and Lay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168

CHAPTER REVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

A. Using Correct Forms of Irregular Verbs
B. Writing the Past and Past Participle Forms of Irregular Verbs
C. Proofreading for Correct Verb Forms
Writing Application: Using Verbs in a Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

Using Pronouns Correctly

CHAPTER
Subject and Object Forms ....................................... 176

DIAGNOSTIC PREVIEW: Revising Incorrect Pronoun Forms in Sentences . . . . . . . . . 176

THE FORMS OF PERSONAL PRONOUNS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

The Subject Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
The Object Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183

SPECIAL PRONOUN PROBLEMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188

Who and Whom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Pronouns with Appositives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

CHAPTER REVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

A. Identifying Correct Pronoun Forms
B. Identifying Pronouns Used as Predicate Nominatives
C. Identifying the Correct Forms of Pronouns Used as Subjects, Direct
Objects, Indirect Objects, and Objects of Prepositions
Writing Application: Using Correct Pronoun Forms in Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195

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Using Modifiers Correctly

CHAPTER
Comparison and Placement .................................... 196

DIAGNOSTIC PREVIEW: Correcting Errors in the Form, Use, and

Placement of Modifiers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196

WHAT IS A MODIFIER? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

One-Word Modifiers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Phrases Used as Modifiers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Clauses Used as Modifiers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198

COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199

Regular Comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Irregular Comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203

SPECIAL PROBLEMS IN USING MODIFIERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204

DOUBLE NEGATIVES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209

PLACEMENT OF MODIFIERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211

Adjectives and Adverbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Prepositional Phrases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Adjective Clauses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214

CHAPTER REVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217

A. Identifying the Correct Forms of Modifiers
B. Correcting Double Negatives
C. Writing Comparative and Superlative Forms
D. Correcting Misplaced Phrases and Clauses
Writing Application: Using Negative Words in Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219

A Glossary of Usage
CHAPTER
Common Usage Problems ....................................... 220

DIAGNOSTIC PREVIEW: Correcting Errors in Usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220

ABOUT THE GLOSSARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221

CHAPTER REVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235

A. Revising Sentences by Correcting Errors in Usage
B. Revising Sentences by Correcting Errors in Usage
Writing Application: Using Formal English in a Letter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237

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Capital Letters
CHAPTER
Rules for Capitalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238

DIAGNOSTIC PREVIEW: Correcting Sentences by Capitalizing Words . . . . . . . . . . . . 238

USING CAPITAL LETTERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239

CHAPTER REVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259

A. Proofreading Sentences for Correct Capitalization
B. Correcting Sentences by Using Capital Letters Correctly
C. Correcting Errors in Capitalization
Writing Application: Using Capital Letters in an Essay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261

Punctuation
CHAPTER
End Marks, Commas, Semicolons, Colons .................... 262

DIAGNOSTIC PREVIEW: Using Periods, Question Marks, Exclamation Points,

Commas, Semicolons, and Colons Correctly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262

END MARKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263

COMMAS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Items in a Series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Compound Sentences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Interrupters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Introductory Words, Phrases, and Clauses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
Conventional Uses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Unnecessary Commas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277

SEMICOLONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279

COLONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281

CHAPTER REVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285

A. Using Punctuation Correctly
B. Using Punctuation Correctly
Writing Application: Using End Marks in a Screenplay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287

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Punctuation
Underlining (Italics), Quotation Marks, Apostrophes,
CHAPTER
Hyphens, Parentheses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288

DIAGNOSTIC PREVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288

A. Proofreading Sentences for the Correct Use of Underlining (Italics) and
Quotation Marks
B. Proofreading Sentences for the Correct Use of Apostrophes, Hyphens,
and Parentheses

UNDERLINING (ITALICS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290

QUOTATION MARKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292

APOSTROPHES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
Possessive Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
Contractions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304
Plurals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307

HYPHENS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308

PARENTHESES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311

CHAPTER REVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313

A. Using Underlining (Italics), Quotation Marks, Apostrophes, Hyphens,
and Parentheses
B. Revising Indirect Quotations to Create Direct Quotations
C. Punctuating a Dialogue
Writing Application: Using Apostrophes in a Letter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315

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Spelling
CHAPTER
Improving Your Spelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316

DIAGNOSTIC PREVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316

A. Proofreading Sentences for Correct Spelling
B. Proofreading Sentences to Correct Spelling Errors

GOOD SPELLING HABITS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317

SPELLING RULES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319

ie and ei . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
Prefixes and Suffixes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
Forming the Plurals of Nouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325

WORDS OFTEN CONFUSED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329

CHAPTER REVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341

A. Proofreading Sentences for Correct Spelling
B. Choosing Between Words Often Confused
C. Proofreading a Paragraph to Correct Spelling Errors
Writing Application: Using Correct Spelling in a Personal Letter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343

SPELLING WORDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344

Correcting Common Errors

CHAPTER
Key Language Skills Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346

GRAMMAR AND USAGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347

Grammar and Usage Test: Section 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364
Grammar and Usage Test: Section 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366

MECHANICS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368
Mechanics Test: Section 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378
Mechanics Test: Section 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379

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PART 2 Sentences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382

CHAPTER
Writing Effective Sentences ............. 384

DIAGNOSTIC PREVIEW: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384

A. Identifying Sentences, Sentence Fragments, and Run-on Sentences
B. Combining Sentences
C. Revising Stringy Sentences and Sentences with Passive Voice
D. Using Transitions

WRITING CLEAR SENTENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386

Sentence Fragments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386
Run-on Sentences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388
Stringy Sentences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391
Active and Passive Voice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393
Using the Passive Voice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394

COMBINING SENTENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 396

Inserting Words. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397
Inserting Groups of Words . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 398
Using Connecting Words . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401
Using Transitions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 404

CHAPTER REVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 409

A. Identifying Sentences, Sentence Fragments, and Run-on Sentences
B. Combining Sentences
C. Revising a Passage to Improve Sentence Style

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CHAPTER
Sentence Diagramming ..................... 412

THE SENTENCE DIAGRAM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 412

Subjects and Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 412
Adjectives and Adverbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 416
Prepositional Phrases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 418
Direct and Indirect Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419
Subject Complements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421
Subordinate Clauses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 422

THE KINDS OF SENTENCE STRUCTURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 424

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PART 3 Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 428

THE HISTORY OF ENGLISH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430
Origins and Uses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430

TEST SMARTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 434

Becoming “Test-Smart” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 434

GRAMMAR AT A GLANCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 440

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 466
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479

Photo and Illustration Credits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 480

Contents T15
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J o h n Wa r r i n e r : In Hi s O w n Wo r d s

John Warriner:
In His Own Words
In the 1940s and ,50s, John Warriner
The name of John Warriner has long
been associated with a rather formal
(1907–1987) published his first grammar
style of teaching traditional school and composition textbooks. Mr. Warriner's
grammar. Interestingly, however, goal as a teacher and as a writer was to help
John Warriner did not consider him- students learn to use English effectively in
self primarily a grammarian but
rather an English teacher. Also, he
order to be successful in school and in life.
did not consider his books primarily Throughout the years that followed, Mr.
grammar textbooks but rather refer- Warriner revised his original books and
ence handbooks for students and wrote others, creating the series on which
teachers of composition.
this textbook is based. Included in Mr.
In his prefaces to Handbook of Warriner’s books were a number of short
English: Book One and Handbook of essays to his students. In these essays, Mr.
English: Book Two (published in 1948
and 1951, respectively), Warriner Warriner explored the role of language in
articulated his vision of what his text- human life, the importance of studying
books were intended to do and how English, and the value of mastering the
they might best be used. What he conventions of standard English.
had to say might surprise you.

First, Warriner’s goal in prepar-

ing these books was to create “a enables them to communicate
completely flexible teaching tool We could tell you what their thoughts to others in
adaptable to . . . any individual class- John Warriner thought about words, and which they can
room.” He did not design his books the study of English, but we’d record in writing for others to
to be teaching texts in which the rather let you read what he read. Other creatures, dogs, for
class moves sequentially from chap- himself had to say.
ter to chapter, every student doing example, have ways of commu-
all the exercises along the way. In nicating their feelings, but they
fact, he asserted just the opposite: are very simple ways and very
“[A] book of this kind is not intended Language Is Human simple feelings. Without words,
they must resort to mere nois-
for methodical coverage from cover
to cover. The book contains more “Have you ever thought
about how important es, like barking, and to physical
material than any one class can han- language is? Can you imagine actions, like tail wagging. The
dle in a single year. Teachers will what living would be like with- point is that one very impor-
teach those chapters that a particular out it? tant difference between human
class needs and will assign exercises Warriner’s first grammar and
“Of all creatures on earth, beings and other creatures is
composition textbooks, published
in proportion to the need.” in the 1940s and ‘50s. human beings alone have a the way human beings can
fully developed language, which communicate with one another

xvi John Warriner

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NAT_GUM_Hbk_ATE06_FM_T16-T18 12/8/01 8:33 AM Page T17

Warriner was also attuned to the

by means of this remarkable they will not be very useful if needs of individual students within a
thing called language. When you cannot express them clearly class, acknowledging that “students
you stop to think about it, you and convincingly. Language is arrive with greatly varying degrees
realize that language is involved the means by which people of mastery of language essentials.
to some extent in almost every- communicate. By learning how One student may be weak in sen-
thing you do.
”
(from English Grammar and Composition:
your language functions and by
practicing language skills, you
tence sense, another in pronoun
usage. But each student requires for
First Course, 1986) his [or her] special weakness a full
can acquire the competence
necessary to express adequately text explanation, a wealth of exam-
Why Study English? ples, and practice material,” which
what you know and what you
Warriner endeavored to provide.
“Therequired
reason English is a
subject in
think.
”
(from English Grammar and Composition: To organize his material,
almost all schools is that noth- Fourth Course, 1977) Warriner’s English Warriner separated language instruc-
ing in your education is more Grammar and Composition:
Third Course, 1982 tion into sections, choosing to pre-
important than learning Why Study Grammar? sent grammar before usage. His
how to express yourself well. rationale for doing so was that a
rammar is a description
You may know a vast amount
about a subject, but if you are
“G of the way a language
works. It explains many things.
use this order without think-
working understanding of grammar
terms and concepts would provide
unable to communicate what ing. But the rule would be very students and teachers a common
For example, grammar tells us helpful to people who are
you know, you are severely vocabulary for discussing usage con-
the order in which sentence learning English as a second
handicapped. No matter how cepts. However, Warriner was not
parts must be arranged. It language. However, the rule
valuable your ideas may be, comfortable with the implications of
explains the work done by the that subjects and verbs ‘agree’ such a separation: “This is not to
various kinds of words—the (when the subject is plural, the imply that grammar can be sepa-
work done by a noun is differ- verb is plural), and the rule that rated from usage in practice. The
ent from the work done by a some pronouns (I, he, she, we, only valid reason for teaching gram-
verb. It explains how words they) are used as subjects while mar at all is to apply it to specific
change their form according usage problems [emphasis added].”
others (me, him, her, us, them)
to the way they are used. are used as objects—these are Finally, in spite of his reputation
Grammar is useful because it helpful rules even for native as a grammar curmudgeon, John
enables us to make statements speakers of English. Warriner had some rather modern
about how to use our language. “Such rules could not be ideas about language. He believed
These statements we usually understood—in fact, they that English was an evolving lan-
call rules. could not be formed—without guage and that appropriate usage
“The grammar rule that the the vocabulary of grammar. varied according to the situation. In
normal order of an English Grammar, then, helps us to fact, Warriner was adamant that a
sentence is subject-verb-object language arts textbook “must make
state how English is used and
may not seem very important clear to students that correctness in
Warriner’s English
Grammar and Composition:
to us, because English is our
how we should use it.
”
(from English Grammar and Composition:
English is not fixed, but variable, that
there are levels of usage, and that
Fourth Course, 1977 native tongue and we naturally Third Course, 1982)
any living language suffers change.”
John Warriner xvii

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Why Is Punctuation the table shows stronger feeling events often tell us something
Important? than an exclamation point. about the speaker himself.
“In written English, howev- The extra, unintended mes-
“Thetuation
sole purpose of punc-
is to make clear
er, where there are none of
these hints to meaning, simple
sage conveyed by ‘George
don’t know the answer’ is that
the meaning of what you write.
courtesy requires the writer to the speaker does not know or
When you speak, the actu-
make up for the lack by careful does not use one verb form
al sound of your voice, the
rhythmic rise and fall of your
inflections, your pauses and hes-
punctuation.
”
(from English Grammar and Composition:
that is universally preferred by
educated users of English.
Fourth Course, 1973)
itations, your stops to take “Perhaps it is not fair to
breath—all supply a kind of judge people by how they say
‘punctuation’ that serves to Why Learn Standard things rather than by what
they say, but to some extent
group your words and to indi- English?
cate to your listener precisely everyone does it. It’s hard to
what you mean. Indeed, even the “Consider the following
pair of sentences:
know what is in a person’s
head, but the language he uses
body takes part in this unwritten 1. George don’t know the
punctuation. A raised eyebrow is always open to inspection,
answer. and people draw conclusions
may express interrogation more 2. George doesn’t know the
eloquently than any question from it. The people who give
answer. marks and recommendations,
mark, and a knuckle rapped on “Is one sentence clearer or who hire employees or judge
more meaningful than the college applications, these and
other? It’s hard to see how. The others who may be important
speaker of sentence 1 and the in your life are speakers of
speaker of sentence 2 both con- educated English. You may not
vey the same message about be able to impress them mere-
George and his lack of knowl- ly by speaking their language,
edge. If language only conveyed but you are likely to impress
information about the people them unfavorably if you don’t.
and events that a speaker is dis- The language you use tells a lot
cussing, we would have to say about you. It is worth the
that one sentence is just as good trouble to make sure that it
as the other. However, language tells the story you want people
often carries messages the
English Grammar and
Composition: Fourth
speaker does not intend. The
to hear.
”
(from English Grammar and Composition:
Course, 1973 words he uses to tell us about Fourth Course, 1973)

xviii John Warriner

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TO OUR
STUDENTS

What is grammar?
That seems like a simple ques-
tion, doesn’t it? Most of us have
a sense of what grammar is even though we are seldom asked
to define the term. Many people use the term grammar to mean “the
rules of language.” In this book, however, grammar has a more specific
meaning. Here, grammar refers to the structure of language—to the
words, phrases, and clauses that are the building blocks of sentences.
Grammar gives us the labels we use to talk about language.
What about the rules that govern how language is used in various
social situations? In this book, these rules are called usage. Unlike
grammar, usage determines what is considered standard (“isn’t”) or
nonstandard (“ain’t”) and what is considered formal (“why”) or
informal (“how come”). Usage is a social convention, a behavior or
rule that is customary for members of a group. As a result, what is
considered acceptable usage can vary from group to group and from
situation to situation.
To speak standard English requires a knowledge of grammar and
of standard usage. To write standard English requires something
more—a knowledge of mechanics. Mechanics refers to the rules for
written, rather than spoken, language. Spelling, capitalization, and
punctuation are concepts we don’t even think about when we are
speaking, but they are vital to writing effectively.

Why should I study grammar, usage,

and mechanics?
Many people would say that you should study grammar to learn
to root out errors in your speech and writing. Certainly, the Holt
Handbook can help you learn to avoid making errors and to correct
the errors you do make. More importantly, though, studying gram-
mar, usage, and mechanics gives you the skills you need to take
To Our Students xix

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NAT_GUM_Hbk_ATE06_FM_T19-T21 12/8/01 8:35 AM Page T20

sentences and passages apart and to put them together, to learn which
parts go together and which don’t. Instead of writing sentences and
passages that you hope sound good, you can craft your sentences to
create just the meaning and style you want.
Knowing grammar, usage, and mechanics gives you the tools to
understand and discuss your own language, to communicate clearly the
things you want to communicate, and to develop your own communi-
cation style. Further, mastery of language skills can help you succeed in
your other classes, in future classes, on standardized tests, and in the
larger world—including, eventually, the workplace.

How do I use the Holt Handbook?

The skills taught in the Holt Handbook are important to your success in
reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
Not only can you use this book as a complete grammar, usage, and
mechanics textbook, but you can also use it as a reference guide when
you work on any piece of writing. Whether you are writing a personal
letter, a report for your social studies class, or some other piece of wri-
ting, you can use the Holt Handbook to answer your questions about
grammar, usage, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.

How is the Holt Handbook organized?

The Holt Handbook is divided into three main parts:
PART 1 The Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics chapters provide
instruction on and practice using the building blocks of language—
words, phrases, clauses, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.
Use these chapters to discover how to take sentences apart and ana-
lyze them. The last chapter, Correcting Common Errors, provides
additional practice on key language skills as well as standardized
test practice in grammar, usage, and mechanics.
PART 2 The Sentences chapters include Writing
Effective Sentences and Sentence Diagramming.
Writing Effective Sentences provides instruction on
and practice with writing correct, clear, and interesting
sentences. Sentence Diagramming teaches you to ana-
lyze and diagram sentences so you can see how the
parts of a sentence relate to each other.
xx To Our Students

T20 To Our Students

 PART 3 The Resources section includes The History of English, a
concise history of the English language; Test Smarts, a handy guide
to taking standardized tests in grammar, usage, and mechanics; and
Grammar at a Glance, a glossary of grammatical terms.

How are the chapters organized?

Each chapter begins with a Diagnostic Preview, a short test that covers
the whole chapter and alerts you to skills that need improvement, and
ends with a Chapter Review, another short test that tells you how well
you have mastered that chapter. In between, you’ll see rules, which are
basic statements of grammar, usage, and mechanics principles. The
rules are illustrated with examples and followed by exercises and
reviews that help you practice what you have learned.

What are some other features of this textbook?

■ Oral Practice—spoken practice and reinforcement of rules and
concepts
■ Writing Applications—activities that let you apply grammar,
usage, and mechanics concepts in your writing
■ Tips & Tricks—easy-to-use hints about grammar, usage, and
mechanics
■ Meeting the Challenge—questions or short activities that ask
you to approach a concept from a new angle
■ Style Tips—information about formal and informal uses
of language
■ Help—pointers to help you understand either key rules and
concepts or exercise directions

Holt Handbook on the Internet

As you move through the Holt Handbook, you
will find the best online resources at go.hrw.com.

To Our Students xxi

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Writing Rationale
Assignments

Teaching Strands Narrative writing calls for using pronouns

correctly, which requires understanding case,
pronoun-antecedent agreement, and subject-
Connecting Grammar and Writing NARRATION verb agreement. Using quotations and contrac-
This teaching-strand chart shows you tions in dialogue to show informal speech
some ways to connect grammar patterns is common. Consistent verb tense and
clue words advance the story coherently.
instruction and writing instruction.

The Holt Handbook is designed to be “How-to” instructions create images through

a flexible teaching tool that accom- precise adjectives and adverbs, while words
or phrases indicating location complete the
modates many teaching philosophies EXPOSITION mental picture. Transitional words can indicate
and styles. For example, some teach- the order of steps. Commas separate a series
ers will prefer to use the handbook of steps or parts of a list; a colon may precede
the list.
as a reference source, having stu-
dents refer to it only as the need for To describe a plot and offer an opinion when
explicit grammar instruction arises. writing a short story interpretation, writers
Others will use the handbook as a rely on carefully chosen positive and negative
RESPONSE TO
LITERATURE words, fresh descriptions, and words signaling
teaching text, having their classes order of events. Correct pronoun case must
work through the instruction, be used to show the author’s point of view.
examples, and exercises in a more Appositives can provide additional information.
methodical fashion. Your personal
Because research reports require a sophisticated
teaching style and the needs of your writing style, students need to use correctly
students will determine the best way spelled, formal language to incorporate infor-
for you to teach this material. mation and quotations from many sources.
RESEARCH
Writing a report demands attention to sentence
structure, capitalization, and punctuation.
Phrases and clauses create sentence variety, but
GO TO: go.hrw.com sentence fragments should be avoided.

Strong, clear action verbs and their objects help

a writer to emphasize points and to build a case
in a persuasive essay. Challenging questions and
PERSUASION exclamations help clarify the writer’s stance.
Careful capitalization, clearly punctuated sen-
tences, and correctly used words help to elimi-
nate ambiguity and confusing points.

T22
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Links to Links to Links to

Grammar Usage Mechanics

 personal and possessive  pronoun-antecedent agreement

pronouns (Ch. 2) (Ch. 6); pronoun case (Ch. 8)

 verbs, adverbs (Ch. 3)  agreement (Ch. 6); tense (Ch. 7)  punctuating contractions (Ch. 13)

 sentences classified by purpose  punctuating quotations (Ch. 13)

(Ch. 1)

 adjectives (Ch. 2); adverbs and  comparison of modifiers  using commas to separate two or
prepositions (Ch. 3) (Ch. 9); between, among; more adjectives (Ch. 12); using
good,well; than, then (Ch. 10) colons with a list (Ch. 12)

 adjective and adverb phrases  using modifiers (Ch. 9)  commas with interrupters (Ch. 12)
(Ch. 4)

 adjectives (Ch. 2); adverbs  comparison of modifiers, double

(Ch. 3) negatives (Ch. 9)

 pronouns (Ch. 2); complements  pronoun-antecedent agreement  apostrophes with contractions and
(Ch. 5) (Ch. 6); pronoun case (Ch. 8) possessives (Ch. 13)

 clauses and phrases (Ch. 4)  commas with interrupters (Ch. 12)

 independent and subordinate  formal, standard usage (Ch. 10)  punctuating compound and
clauses, sentence structure (Ch. 4) complex sentences (Ch. 12);
spelling (Ch. 14)

 sentences, fragments, subjects,  subject-verb agreement with  capitalization of titles (Ch. 11);
predicates (Ch. 1); adverb and intervening phrases, with punctuation of direct quotations
adjective phrases (Ch. 4) indefinite pronouns, with (Ch. 12 & Ch. 13); capitalizing and
compound subjects, and with punctuating sources (Ch. 11–13)
subjects after verbs (Ch. 6)

 transitive and intransitive verbs  principal parts of verbs (Ch. 7)  apostrophes with contractions
(Ch. 3); direct and indirect objects, (Ch. 13); words often confused
subject complements (Ch. 5) (Ch. 14); capitalizing the first word
in a sentence (Ch. 11)

 kinds of sentences (Ch. 1)  pronouns, including whom, as  end marks (Ch. 12)
objects; nominative case
pronouns (Ch. 8)

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E S S AY S O N T E A C H I N G G R A M M A R

By Amy Benjamin

Dispelling the Myths about

Grammar Instruction
because those lessons in syntax, place-
ment, word classification, and the
subtleties of style helped them to be
better writers, more efficient readers,
clearer thinkers.

I t is not uncommon for

English teachers as well
as their trainers and
supervisors to hold that
the teaching of grammar
is quaint and unnecessary
at best, prejudicial and
exclusionary at worst.

I know an excellent English teacher about composition? expression? cre-

whose students, many years after ativity? Why just grammar? I don’t How lamentable it is that teaching
graduation, remember her for her even teach grammar anymore. I teach writing through a process approach
grammar lessons. Unfortunately, the writing process.” has become an orthodoxy in which
instead of being proud of this, she is Perhaps these students remem- the grammatical strand of English
chagrined. . . . “Grammar!? Of all bered their grammar lessons because language arts is pitted against the
things in my class to remember! Why of the usefulness of those lessons or literary strand, as if the two are not
grammar? Why can’t they remember because of the satisfaction that they intertwined. Who set up this false
me for all the wonderful literature I derived from learning challenging dichotomy? The notion that gram-
taught them? for what I taught them material. Perhaps they remembered mar instruction is antithetical to the

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writing process is specious. My stand a complicated system we need to fix the sentence, but we haven’t given
purpose in this essay is to debunk know the names of its parts, their them the generality that will allow
some of the myths about grammar forms and functions, how the parts them to apply what they’ve learned to
instruction and to refurbish its relate to the whole, and where these similar circumstances.
tarnished reputation. parts belong if the system is to operate On the other hand, I can know the
It is not uncommon for English at maximum efficiency. That said, names of all the tools in my toolbox,
teachers as well as their trainers and here’s what some people say about what each is for, and how they
supervisors to hold that the teaching grammar instruction, and why I dis- relate to one another; but if I
of grammar is quaint and unnecessary agree with them. don’t use them to facilitate an actual
at best, prejudicial and exclusionary at job in progress, then my knowledge
worst. The problem begins with does not fulfill its intended purpose.
muddy terminology. Some people Myth #1: For many of us, the grammar lessons
conflate the terms grammar, usage, The explicit teaching that we learned in school were about
and mechanics, as well as the terms of grammar does not “picking out.” We’d “pick out” all kinds
correct/incorrect and standard/ non- improve writing ability, of structures: the parts of speech,
standard. Before I turn my fire so time spent on grammar subjects and predicates, simple
extinguisher on the grammar myths, is time not spent on more subjects, helping verbs. Later, we’d
let me clarify my terms: By grammar, I worthy pursuits in the hunt down adverbial clauses, sub-
refer to the rules which govern how English classroom. ject complements, infinitives. We’d
words function in a sentence to make underline and double underline.
meaning. That man bites dog means Think about it. Suppose my car is We’d diagram. The trouble with our
something different from dog bites making a funny noise. Suppose I have instruction was not that it was
man is a function of grammar. By no better understanding of what is misguided, but that it was unfinished.
usage, I refer to the social conventions going on under the hood than that. I Having learned to spot prepositional
that determine what is considered take it to my mechanic, trusting his phrases, we may not have learned
standard. By standard, I do not mean knowledge, integrity, and skill. He’ll why doing so could improve our
correct. I mean that style of the English figure out what’s wrong with my car discourse.
language which most educated people and fix the problem. I’ll pay the bill, How can we use our ability to iden-
accept in formal circumstances. By and if all is not well, I’ll get either tify grammatical structures such as
mechanics, I refer to physical manifes- another mechanic or another car. That prepositional phrases in our own
tations of language such as spelling, is how many car owners (myself reading and writing? We may have
punctuation, capitalization and other included) operate. We don’t have the learned that the object of a preposi-
conventions. In the case of mechanics, time or the inclination to learn the tion must be in the objective case, and
the terms correct and incorrect are taxonomy, nomenclature, and anato- that the object of a preposition is
more appropriate than they are when my of our cars. never the subject of the sentence. This
we are talking about matters of usage, When we don’t speak explicitly to knowledge helps us solve some usage
but even spelling is not without gray students about grammar, syntax, dic- problems, but that is not its main
areas. tion, and coherence, we have to resort value. Knowing how to discern the
Reasonable people can disagree to the “funny noise” method: We have subject and verb can help us read
over matters of content and meth- to say “This part just doesn’t sound dense prose. When reading dense
odology in teaching. However, I think right here,” or “You’re not saying this prose, the reader needs strategies. One
everyone would agree that to under- clearly.” We may be able to help writers such strategy is to reduce the sentence

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to its subject and verb. That done, the Recognition of a grammatical carpenter. He doesn’t just blindly
reader sees prepositional phrases for structure is only the beginning. If we reach into his toolbox, pull out a
what they are: details. Beyond that, think of grammar instruction as screwdriver, try to make it do the work
knowing about prepositions helps building an awareness of language of a wrench, and figure he’ll just sand
writers add sentence variety, as they choices available to the careful writer, down the rough spots later. We can
learn not to begin sentence after sen- then we view such instruction in two make our students better writers if we
tence with the subject. Beginning a phases: recognition and application. teach them to use grammatical knowl-
sentence with a prepositional phrase Too often, the application phase does edge consciously as they match their
can set the stage for the action, but we not happen. When it does not, the syntax to their intentions.
have to be judicious: Sometimes, recognition phase seems to lack prac- We understand the power of graph-
that prepositional phrase can be dis- ticality. Thus does grammar instruc- ic organizers in both reading and
tracting or redundant. As modifiers, tion fall out of favor. writing for many learners. We teach
prepositional phrases can be movable, students to map their ideas as
and their placement affects meaning, a prewriting strategy. We teach them
rhythm, and emphasis. Prepositional Myth #2: to make Venn diagrams to show simi-
phrases, “time and place words,” add Grammar instruction larities and differences, and flowcharts
detail and dimension. The novice applies only to the editing to express sequence. Sentence struc-
writer who has difficulty fleshing out a phase of the writing tures are patterns. We can think in
topic can do well to consciously add process. terms of certain grammatical tem-
more prepositional phrases. It is plates, containers, that work well for
knowing what prepositional phrases When people operate under this myth, certain types of ideas. Parallel struc-
can and can’t do for you that makes they are confusing grammar with ture and compound sentences or
being able to identify them worth- usage and mechanics. Usage and simple sentences with compound
while. Selecting standard pronoun mechanics may be seen as “touch- constituents are good containers for
case, creating purposeful variety in ups,” part of the finishing-off of a like elements bearing equal impor-
sentence structure, adding detail and written piece. As such, they are not tance. Complex sentences are good
dimension, and eliminating redun- essential to the real intellectual work containers to use when we need to
dancy are some good reasons for of the process, although no one should show the backgrounding and fore-
being able to recognize prepositional minimize their importance. Usage and grounding of elements that do not
phrases. mechanics can determine the first and bear equal importance. Sentence
last impressions that the reader gets of structure selections occur in the draft-
the writer’s work. The point is that we ing and revision stages of the writing

I t is knowing what should not limit our understanding of process, as the writer searches for the
grammar to the surface features of clearest, most efficient way to express
prepositional phrases usage and mechanics. thoughts.
can and can’t do for Along with diction and rhetoric, Many writers have an intuitive
grammar (unlike usage and mechan- sense of what kinds of containers
you that makes being ics) is organic to the crafting of work best with what kinds of ideas.
able to identify them sentences and text. Writers with an When we bring this underlying aware-
awareness of grammar can make ness of grammar to the conscious
worthwhile. informed choices about how word level, we help students manage
order affects meaning. Picture a inchoate ideas in the same way

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that a graphic organizer, such as discussion” subject. We can isolate the detached from the fundamentals?
a Venn diagram, might. Indeed, there study of grammar, treat it as some- Knowledge of structure is not a hin-
is much to be said for using one of thing we “have to get through” before drance, but a guide that enables, rather
the many versions of graphic organiz- moving on to literature. We can fail to than impedes, creativity.
ers along with sentence structure make any connection between gram- Sometimes, grammar instruction is
templates. The writer can then look at mar and journalism, grammar and thought of as “drill and kill.” This
a branch diagram or a cluster, decide advertising, grammar and novels, pejorative implies that the instruction
how the ideas are related, and then grammar and drama, grammar and will consist of lower level thinking
consider an array of syntactical music, grammar and poetry. These are skills, mindless repetition, and lack of
containers to suit them. ways to make grammar boring. application to authentic language. We
What I’ve described is a way of picture fill-in-the-blank workbook-
understanding the role of grammar in type questions in which there is one
the writing process that is deeper than
what is commonly thought, i.e., that
grammatical thinking enters the pic-
ture only as the cleanup man. In fact,
I ’ve heard teachers claim
that grammar instruction
interferes with creativity.
right answer. The book that you have
in your hands is an extremely useful,
in fact indispensable, tool for the
teaching of language. However, any
we already make intuitive grammati- grammar text is most effective when
cal choices as we compose our used along with, not in place of, litera-
thoughts. Those intuitive choices may I’ve heard teachers claim that ture and student writing. It might
or may not be the best ones for the grammar instruction interferes with seem that students would naturally
purpose. By building awareness of creativity. “Grammar is boring,” they make the crossover from what they
sentence and textual structure, we can say. “And writing should be fun and learn in grammar exercises to their
increase our chances that our message interesting.” This is a misguided own language use, but such is not nec-
is clear, efficient, and graceful. notion, because creativity thrives essarily the case. As teachers, we have
within structure. The sonneteer works to make that crossover happen very
within a strictly prescribed structure, deliberately, pointing out structures
Myth #3: choosing that structure because it is that students have learned and how
Grammar is boring. the best container for particular ideas. those structures are used to make
The sonnet form is not constraining meaning in authentic contexts. Thus
There are many ways to make our but liberating: The format frees the does grammar instruction transcend
classrooms boring. We can “cover writer from decisions about rhythm the practice exercises that illustrate
material” in a perfunctory way, “going and rhyme scheme. Because of the targeted concepts.
over” the exercises done for home- structure, half the work is done. I can’t Everybody loves language; children
work or as seatwork. We can convey to think of any creative pursuit—music, and teenagers love it especially,
students that their language is fine arts, dance, photography, drama, because they are in the process of
“wrong” and ours is “right.” We can be writing—that does not demand mas- defining their own culture by laying
language prudes, fainting and blanch- tery of technique. I can’t think of any claim to words and expressions all
ing at every double negative or creative pursuit in which there is no their own. When we invite students to
misplaced modifier that dares to show terminology, no anatomy, no struc- analyze their own neologisms, gram-
its face in our presence. We can insist ture, no tradition, no rules. Why matical idiosyncrasies, and dialectical
that the answer key is always the would learning any kind of writing, styles, we enliven grammar lessons
authority and that grammar is a “no much less creative writing, be immeasurably. As English teachers, we

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embrace all forms of the English lan- areas.” Aside from the obvious expec- into the professional conversation of
guage even while we recognize that tation that we use standard English in our subject areas.
mastery of standard English is essen- school, how can students apply gram-
tial for success in certain precincts of mar to their content area classes?

T eachers want to give

society. Every teacher wants students to be
Another way to make grammar better readers. A law student told me
instruction interesting is to let stu- recently that she was glad that she away the words of
dents discover how language changes knew something about grammar, their subject areas the
right before our eyes. Movies and because she needed it to read complex
novels set in various pockets of the materials in her courses. She found way grandmothers want
English-speaking world are museums that by mentally pulling out the sub- to give away food.
of linguistic anthropology. Compare ject and verb, she could follow the
the idioms of To Kill A Mockingbird to lines of technical text.
those of The Color Purple. Analyze the Needless to say, grammatical As English teachers, we love words
language of a movie set in New knowledge of the English language about words, language about lan-
Orleans and compare it to the lan- is essential for learning another lan- guage. To us, there is a vast difference
guage of a movie set in Los Angeles. guage. Just as grammar has fallen out between an action verb and a linking
There are many ways to make our of favor in many English classes, verb, a predicate nominative and a
classrooms interesting. Our love of the it has suffered a similar blow in direct object, a transitive verb and an
subject is contagious. Grammar is the pedagogy of learning other lan- intransitive verb. In teaching students
exciting and rewarding to learn not guages as well, where grammar to talk the talk, we turn them into
because we get the answers right, but instruction has been supplanted by licensed operators, not just amateurs.
because we’ve applied logic and found “conversation.” The predictable conse- A licensed operator can make the
patterns, and because there may be quence has been much confusion and machinery run more efficiently, can
more than one answer, depending on frustration for both teachers, who feel anticipate potential problems, and can
the circumstances, audience, and pur- that their hands are tied, and students, fix what is wrong. An amateur hopes
pose. Contrary to myth, a good gram- many of whom are bewildered by the that the sentence “sounds good.”
mar lesson can invite a lively gymnastics of the French verb when Grammar should be the permeable
discussion about ambiguities in they don’t even know how English membrane that allows knowledge
meaning and the best way to express verbs behave. learned in English class to transform
thought in a particular context. It can What about science, math, social into skill in the content area classes.
even ignite a discussion about social studies, the arts? All teachers love Active voice may be preferable in Eng-
power structures, prejudices, and words. The biology teacher is fussy lish classes where the subject is often
immigration. This is not boring stuff. about the difference between osmosis people doing things (S-V-O). In com-
and diffusion. Getting students to posing a lab report, however, passive
make fine distinctions is an important voice may be the better choice. The
Myth #4:
part of teaching students to think like difference in pressure was recorded
Grammar applies only scientists. Teachers want to give away might sound more scientific than I
to English classes. the words of their subject areas the recorded the difference in pressure. In
For lack of a better term, we refer to way grandmothers want to give away the language of lab reports, the fact
subjects other than English as “content food. We want to invite our students that the technician did the action is

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irrelevant. A radiologist writes her The social studies teacher and the indeed, those for whom a chosen field
report in the passive voice: No abnor- science teacher may not know it, but is an option in the first place, know
malities were found, rather than I the benefits of grammar instruction how to control the impression that
found no abnormalities. In English are carried through the student’s others have of them. People judge our
class, we show students the difference entire day. status and education levels not only
in tone between active and passive through language, but also through
voice. dress, manners, and gesture.
Myth #5:
It is important to learn to think in Once we acknowledge that stand-
action verbs in all subject areas. A stu- Grammar instruction ard English is just another form of
dent who is writing about the Refor- is ethnocentric and English that is appropriate for certain
mation needs to focus on who did prejudicial. situations but not for all, then we are
what: Martin Luther translated the As English teachers, we need to avoid free to enjoy the dialects of English
Bible into the German vernacular. His giving the impression that we are the that we find in authentic literature,
translation enabled more people to designated Keepers of the Language. regional speech, song lyrics, and casu-
read the Bible. The action verbs tell the We can teach the etiquette of standard al conversation. We can look at new
story. They give students a starting English without denying a student the coinages, popular metaphors, slang,
point when writing and a focus when right to his or her own dialect. and jargon with the interest of a lin-
reading. All subject areas use this An educated person has that social guist rather than the arrogance of a
concept; it is we English teachers who thermostat that linguists call code- pedant.
actually teach it in our grammar switching. The metaphor of table
lessons. manners is apt: What we are expected
to do at an outdoor barbecue differs
from what we’re expected to do at
Thanksgiving dinner. Those of us who
W e can teach the
etiquette of
Standard English without
can’t tell the difference, who can’t
code-switch, are socially awkward. denying a student the
This is not to say that standard English
is better than any particular dialect. right to his or her own
Standard English is not more expres- dialect.
sive, more poetic, or even more accu-
rate. It is simply the expected currency
of mainstream society in formal situa- That language is a changing social
tions. We don’t have to use it all of the contract is evidenced by grammar
time, but if we can’t use it when it is books of yore. Even in one generation,
expected, then we are at a cultural dis- the who/whom distinction has attenu-
advantage that our education should ated, as has the use of the past perfect
remedy. tense of verbs. Certain usages, such as
We are constantly making impres- the nominative case after a linking
sions that indicate our understanding verb, sound stuffy. We have yet to solve
of our social context. Those who are the problem that exists because we
successful in their chosen fields, lack a generic singular pronoun: He,

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once preferred, is thought to be sexist; guage, that is, the language of lan- tives, nouns, and verbs,” one teacher
one sounds stilted and British; they is a guage. Absent that, we can’t explain said. “Why do they have to know the
grammatical mismatch. That leaves he what we mean about what we are try- names of these things?” “That just isn’t
or she, which can seem awfully con- ing to say, and others are at a loss to the way we teach anymore,” said
spicuous. It’s interesting to have stu- help us. another with a wave of her hand. “We
dents compare the style guides of don’t want to interfere with the
various publications on sensitive children’s creativity. Teaching them
points such as this.

Myth #6:
T erminology is powerful.
grammar would interrupt their flow.”
A fourth-grade teacher added, “But
that isn’t on the state test, and we
really don’t have time for anything
As native speakers, we that doesn’t get the scores up.” Here’s
Recently, I worked with a group of
don’t have to learn what I would answer:
elementary school teachers who were
grammar. Terminology is powerful. We can’t
looking for teaching strategies that
It is true that we already know gram- would improve their students’ writing improve our sentences until we under-
mar intuitively. Native speakers learn, skills. When I suggested that they stand the crucial role played by verbs.
quite naturally, how to put words develop a scope and sequence in We certainly can’t understand that
together to make meaning. What we grammar skills, they were skeptical. role until we know how to identify
don’t learn naturally is the metalan- “They already know how to use adjec- verbs in context and that verbs come
in various flavors: finite verbs, infini-
tives, participles, gerunds.
Further, creativity and “flow” are
enhanced, not impeded, by knowledge
of language structure and what certain
kinds of phrases and sentences can
and can’t do. When the reader has to
stumble over and re-read awkward,
redundant, convoluted, or misplaced
structures within sentences, does it
matter how creative the writer was?
Doesn’t the logic of grammar improve
the flow of prose?
To answer the last objection, the
statewide tests may or may not have
explicit questions regarding grammar.
Some do; some don’t, and the nature
of those tests can and will change.
What will not change is that a writer
who knows where commas belong
makes the job easier on the reader, as
does the writer who understands sub-
ordination, agreement, and overall

T30 Essays on Teaching Grammar

sentence management. If we acknowl- structure, you can make your flow ship between grammar and the logical
edge that the whole purpose of of sentences more musical, more progression of ideas.
writing is to communicate, and that nuanced, less choppy. Knowing grammar is useful, but
communication is accomplished by even if it weren’t, learning it would
writing clearly, then we can see the • If you know the difference between
still be worthwhile because it is inter-
a phrase, a clause, and a sentence,
application of grammar to writing. Of esting. Like chess, grammar is about
you can guide your reader by using
course, if grammar instruction never how power and proximity govern
well-placed punctuation.
makes the leap from identification of a relationships and possibilities. Like
structure to its effective application, engineering, grammar is about struc-
then these teachers are right to reject it ture, balance, efficiency and strength.
as largely irrelevant.

What Knowing
L ike poetry, grammar is
about the beauty of
expressing exactly what
Like mathematics, grammar is about
patterns and forms. Like geology,
grammar is at once eternal and
dynamic. Like poetry, grammar is
Grammar Can Do about the beauty of expressing exactly
we mean by placing the what we mean by placing the words
for Writers
words just right. just right. ■
Finally, here is a list of what you can
do when you know a few things about
grammar:
Understanding how grammar Amy Benjamin is a writer of educa-
• If you know how to use parallel works puts the writer on the right tional materials and a national con-
structure, you can make your mes- path. When writers begin a definition sultant on the subjects of grammar,
sage smoother, clearer, easier on by saying “Osmosis is when . . .” they literacy, and differentiated instruc-
the reader, more logical, and more are failing to apply the concept that a tion. She is the recipient of awards for
memorable. subject complement, not an adverbial excellence in teaching from Tufts Uni-
clause, must follow a linking verb. The versity and Union College.
• If you know when to use active
“is when . . .” definition is going to fall
voice and when to use passive
voice, you can control the direct- on its face because the key term has
ness or indirectness of your not been handled properly in the
message. You control the power sentence. Definitions call for classifi-
and impact of your words. You can cation. First, we must place the term in
also avoid the trouble that comes its proper realm: “Osmosis is
from being too direct or accusatory. a . . . process? means? phenomenon?”
The writer must stop and think about
• If you know how to use verb tense
what kind of thing osmosis is. Such
consistently, you can guide your
categorical thinking is absolutely
reader through the tangle of time
essential to the scientist, but it does
in your narrative.
not happen with the ungrammati-
• If you know how to vary the gram- cal “. . . is when” structure. This
matical constructs in your sentence example demonstrates the relation-

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By Brock Haussamen

Grammar: Why Teach It?

Why should students learn—and ability to talk about language is a
teachers teach—grammar? Simply fundamental educational goal. It is
memorizing the parts of speech difficult to discuss sentences without
doesn’t, by itself, make students better knowing basic grammar in the same
writers. Worrying about errors can way that it is difficult to talk about a
quickly dampen student enthusiasm sport or a science or politics without
for a writing project. Over the past knowing the names of its elements
three decades, grammar’s reputation and how they are organized. Knowing
has suffered. Is grammar useful? Why basic grammar is what enables
teach it? students to discuss the sentences in
I believe the central reason for a book they are reading or in a
teaching and learning grammar is that paper they are writing, and to discuss
it gives all of us a language for talking their native language or a second
about language, and certainly the language.

T hink of grammar as
having two faces. One
is its public face, which
can be quite formal. The
other face is private and
more friendly.

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The Two Faces of not master those conventions will they will be required to dress, to talk,
likely face obstacles at every turn. and to write in other ways. This
Grammar It is important for us to remember approach will less likely demean those
To teach grammar effectively, we need and to remind our students that pub- students who do not routinely hear
to show students how to put it to use. lic grammar is different from, not and use standard English. It also gives
The language of grammar—the inherently better than, the language grammatical correctness a practical
names for the parts of speech and students normally use. The do’s and value and encourages your students to
other sentence components that don’ts of public grammar create an see language differences as an example
appear in the grammar section of this illusion that they are rigorously logi- of social diversity and opportunity.
textbook—has two distinct kinds of cal, like the rules of mathematics, and
uses. Think of grammar as having two that they are permanent. Neither of
faces. One is its public face, which can these claims is true. The do’s and Private Grammar
be quite formal. The other face is pri- don’ts are sometimes illogical, and The other face of grammar is much
vate and more friendly. they change. Just a few decades ago, more personal. By “private grammar,”
grammar textbooks like this one I mean the language structure that all
would have insisted on the distinction of us already carry around in our
Public Grammar between will and shall; today that dis- heads and put to use when we com-
The public face of grammar consists tinction is all but gone. A few decades municate or think. In contrast to the
of all the rules we teach students to into the future, a book such as this will study of public grammar, which has
follow in their writing and all the probably simplify and may even omit evolved over centuries, the description
errors we tell them to avoid making. In the distinction between who and of our inherent language ability has
this textbook it is the material in the whom, which is already fading in grown from the work of linguists over
sections on usage and mechanics. I informal English. the last several decades. Such gram-
call usage and mechanics “public mar is private in the sense that it
grammar” because they identify the operates inside our heads, so quickly
conventions of the standard American
dialect in which our society carries on
its formal writing and speaking. There
are many good reasons to teach these
T he “right” clothes, like
the “right” grammar,
depend on what is appro-
we are not even conscious of it. You
won’t find questions about private
grammar on standardized tests; it is
what students possess in order to read
conventions. Such a standard dialect the tests in the first place.
helps people from different places and
priate or expected in a If using public grammar can be
different backgrounds to communi- given situation. compared to wearing socially accept-
cate clearly. The conventions of public able formal clothes, private grammar
grammar help sustain the uniformity can be compared to doing what comes
of our writing system, on which our Try explaining to your students that naturally, to physical skills such as
society depends utterly. Finally, they their grammar is like the clothes they walking or running or throwing. Ask
reflect the language of economic wear. The “right” clothes, like the students to take a statement and turn
power. In general, people who can “right” grammar, depend on what is it into a question in their native lan-
write and speak according to the appropriate or expected in a given sit- guage. They can do it easily. They can
standard conventions have a better uation. Around their friends, students fit new slang words into sentences
chance at participating in the influen- talk and dress in particular ways. At fluidly. They know quickly when the
tial core of our society. People who do formal occasions or in the workplace, language they hear or read sounds

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confusing or clear, choppy or smooth. fortable with; its vocabulary looks Another way to draw on students’
They do all this with their private large and forbidding; many of the private grammatical ability is to pro-
grammar. terms combine with each other in vide them with practical shortcuts for
ways that seem strange to students getting at the essential points of gram-
(“adjective clause”); and because it is a mar. Grammarians over the years have

P rivate grammar can language about language, it strains the assembled a number of these simple
verbal skills of many of its students, methods, and your students will love
be compared to doing both children and adults. So, like any you for telling them about these meth-
what comes naturally, language it must be practiced often ods. One good book on the subject is
and put to use in a variety of contexts. Rei Noguchi’s Grammar and the
to physical skills such as Here are some general suggestions. Teaching of Writing: Limits and Possi-
walking or running or bilities (NCTE). Students find the
shortcuts practical, and they also
throwing. Use Private Grammar appreciate the positive reinforcement
to Teach Public of their grammatical instincts.
Grammar
If they can do all this already, how As language users, we all have an
will studying grammar help them do intuitive sense that sentences are made
Use Grammar for
more? The answer is that any skill that up of sections. Give students a sen- Reading
already comes somewhat naturally, tence and ask them to divide it into Although grammar is most closely
like throwing a ball or making music, chunks and to group the words that go associated with writing, students can
will improve if we learn about it and together. This approach can remain put grammar to use when they read.
practice it. Students will be using the basic or can become more refined as Knowing grammatical terminology
language of grammar to some degree students divide and cluster clauses and gives students the tools they need to
when they revise and combine sen- phrases. discuss a difficult sentence in a story
tences in the section on “Writing This sort of activity easily leads or a poem. Ask students to pick out
Effective Sentences” in this textbook. to sentence diagramming. If you are the main verb and then the simple
They will do so to a greater degree not familiar with diagramming, see subject; finding these can help them
whenever you show them how to Chapter 17. I teach students not figure out the rest of the sentence.
improve the style of their writing by the whole of it but just the basic Poets bend sentences around a good
finding active verbs or expanding sen- components; even elementary dia- deal, but most poetry consists of
tences with participles or preposition- grams help many students see the recognizable sentences and sentence
al phrases. subject-predicate core of a sentence parts. Often you can help students
more clearly. If you choose to teach move beyond their perplexity about
diagramming more thoroughly, stu- a poem by reminding them to look
Putting Grammar dents will be able to analyze difficult for the sentences and their basic
to Use sentences that they encounter in parts.
As you can see from these descriptions reading and will build their com- In discussing with students what
of public and private faces, the lan- prehension. Many students enjoy they enjoy or don’t enjoy about a
guage of basic grammar has many constructing the diagrams; the activity writer’s style, look for the grammatical
uses. Nonetheless, it is a difficult taps students’ visual and spatial skills characteristics of the writer’s sen-
language for students to grow com- in addition to their verbal ones. tences. What parts of speech stand out

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in the sentences? Some writers special- highlight the main nouns and verbs. as an active verb, half as an adjective)
ize in strong, active verbs, with few Some start a sentence with long intro- and also by adding appositives. “A spi-
forms of the verb be. In other writers’ ductory word groups; others go right der, a repulsive, hairy creature, no
texts, is and are abound, but the nouns to the subject. bigger than a tarantula, crawled into
stand out. In still others’, the adjec- Bring grammar into the reading of the room. . . . Hands trembling, sweat
tives and adverbs catch the reader’s advertisements, political language, dripping from his face, he flung the
attention. and the World Wide Web. Advertise- magazine left and right, trying to kill
Another approach is to ask students ments provide good examples of the spiders, but there were too many.”
how long a writer’s sentences are, on sentence fragments, imperative verbs, That example of an eighth-grader’s
average. What characteristic sentence and words that look like nouns but act work is from Harry Noden’s Image
lengths do students notice among like adjectives (“a Labor Day sofa Grammar: Using Grammatical Struc-
types of writers, or the writers of sale”). Political speeches and slogans tures to Teach Writing, an excellent
different periods? This approach can make interesting use of we and other source for these and other techniques.
lead to a discussion of the different personal pronouns. E-mail seems to Students can also add phrases,
structures that make up a writer’s encourage sentences that are variously especially prepositional phrases, and
sentences. Some writers like to add clipped, casual, funny, skillful, and clauses to a sentence, expanding the
modifiers, phrases, and clauses; other careless. Ask students to bring in information about their main point,
writers keep sentences short to examples for discussion. giving more details in order to paint a
picture, building, and penetrating fur-
ther into their topic. (The sentence
Use Grammar that you just read is one example; you
for Revision can find more—and better ones—in
When students write, help the work of most accomplished writ-
them use grammar not just ers.) Students may think at first that
in the final editing stage, they are merely making sentences
when they hunt out their longer, but they will quickly find that
violations of public gram- they are also saying more.
mar, but in the revising stage
as well, when they can exper-
iment with private grammar Conclusion
to develop their style as The suggestions in this essay are only a
writers. sample of the good ideas for using the
This textbook shows language of grammar to help students
students how to combine become better readers and writers.
sentences by inserting words The books I have mentioned will lead
or using conjunctions. Stu- you to other ideas. And your
dents can use some of the colleagues in language arts can pro-
same methods to build a sin- vide you with many other suggestions
gle sentence. They can build for using grammar in the classroom.
their sentences by adding If you think of grammar as a lan-
participles (especially –ing guage for talking about language and
participles that function half you keep in mind the differences

Essays on Teaching Grammar T35

 Weaver, Constance. Teaching Gram-
mar in Context. Portsmouth:
Boynton/Cook, 1996.
William, Joseph M. Style: The Lessons
in Clarity and Grace. 6th ed.
New York: Longman, 2000. ■

Brock Haussamen taught at Raritan

Valley Community College in New
Jersey from 1968 to 2006. He is
the author of Revising the Rules:
Traditional Grammar and Modern
Linguistics (Kendall/Hunt), NCTE’s
Grammar Alive: A Guide for Teachers
(2003), and also of a book on the
history of the local New Jersey rail-
roads. He served as president of the
Assembly for the Teaching of English
Grammar from 2000 to 2006.

between public and private grammar, Kolln, Martha. Rhetorical Grammar:

you can make grammar a valuable Grammatical Choices, Rhetorical
part of your students’ language Effect. 3rd ed. Boston: Allyn and
education. Bacon, 1998.
Kolln, Martha, and Robert Funk
(contributor). Understanding Eng-
For Further Reading lish Grammar. 5th ed. Needham:
Assembly for the Teaching of English Allyn and Bacon, 1998.
Grammar. www.ateg.org. Noden, Harry R. Image Grammar:
Berk, Lynn M. English Syntax: From Using Grammatical Structures to
Word to Discourse. New York: Teach Writing. Portsmouth: Heine-
Oxford UP, 1999. mann/Boynton Cook, 1999.
Haussamen, Brock. Revising the Rules: Noguchi, Rei. Grammar and the
Traditional Grammar and Modern Teaching of Writing: Limits and
Linguistics. 2nd ed. Dubuque: Possibilities. Urbana: NCTE, 1991.
Kendall/Hunt, 2000.

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By Rei R. Noguchi

Getting Down to Basics:

Using What Students Already Know
Too often we struggle in teaching basic unconscious knowledge, we can help

L ike sentences, subjects grammar to our students. Yet what students identify more easily the three
really are the basics and how should basic elements, and, more important,
and verbs are among we teach them? The most basic— help them better understand subse-
the most basic elements the rock-bottom minimum—are sen- quent instruction in grammar, usage,
tence, verb, and subject. Surprisingly, and mechanics.
of grammar and writing we can teach these three basic ele- Why are the sentence, verb, and
instruction. ments by taking advantage of the subject the very basics of grammar
unconscious linguistic knowledge that instruction? Take the notion of
students already possess, their private sentence. The sentence constitutes the
grammar, so to speak. By tapping this most important unit in written texts,
particularly in writing for school. A
shaky grasp of what counts as a
written sentence inevitably and
unintentionally leads to distracting
sentence fragments, fused sentences,
and comma splices. Clearly, to master
formal written English, students need
to differentiate between a genuine
sentence and an inappropriate
nonsentence. Like sentences, subjects
and verbs are among the most basic
elements of grammar and writing
instruction. Besides helping to define
a sentence, subjects and verbs
constitute elements on which a great
deal of grammar and writing
instruction builds. Without a reliable
way of identifying subject and verb,
students can almost certainly expect
rough going.

Essays on Teaching Grammar T37

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How can we teach the concepts of sentence is, students must understand at this stage. If students can perform
subject, verb, and sentence so that such terms as subject, predicate, and the simple test given here, they already
students can identify them easily? I independent clause. Each of these unconsciously know what a sentence
would suggest that, rather than relying terms may require further definitions is, and with that knowledge they can
solely on semantic definitions, we take yet. easily identify fragments, which are
fuller advantage of what we often just parts of sentences. With a bit of
ignore or downplay in our teaching of guidance and exploration, students
grammar, namely, the tremendous
unconscious knowledge that all fluent
or near-fluent speakers of English
bring to the classroom every day. Put
E xploiting the
unconscious linguistic
knowledge of students is
will discover that fused sentences and
comma splices won’t fit in the empty
slot either.

more bluntly, our students know a

great deal more about grammar than the key to teaching the Identifying Verbs
many of us think. This grammar is not very basics of grammar. If we tap the private grammar of our
school grammar but their “private students, we can also help them iden-
grammar,” the system of rules uncon- tify specific and important parts of the
sciously learned and unconsciously sentence. Below are two frames that
To avoid the chain of seemingly
used by all fluent speakers of English will help students identify words that
endless definitions to identify sen-
in everyday conversation. We cannot can serve as main verbs.
tences and fragments, teachers can
teach this personal underlying take advantage of their students’ Main-Verb Frame 1:
grammar for the simple reason that unconscious knowledge of what con- They might _____ (it) now.
our students already know it. All stitutes a complete sentence. Teachers
we can do is bring this knowledge Main-Verb Frame 2:
can, for example, use the following
to the surface and exploit it to They aren’t _____-ing (it) now.
frame to help students tap what they
the fullest. already know. Any word that fits in the empty
slots above will be the base form
Sentence Frame:
(infinitive) of the main verb, the form
Identifying the They liked the idea that
listed in the dictionary (e.g., eat, col-
Sentence ___________________.
lect, finish, sleep). There is no need
Exploiting the unconscious linguistic Many word groups will fit in the here to define main verb. If the word
knowledge of students is the key to frame, but whatever they are, they will fits in the empty slot, it’s a word that
teaching the very basics of grammar. all be genuine declarative sentences. English speakers and writers can and
For students unaccustomed or Students can try out fragments you do use as a main verb in sentences.
resistant to working with abstract provide, such as Thinking of joining the Because verbs don’t always occur in
definitions, identifying sentences and team or Because he joined the team, as the base form in actual sentences,
fragments may prove difficult. To well as any suspicious word groups students need other strategies to
identify fragments, students must, they themselves may write. If students identify verbs, especially in the
at minimum, understand that a discover a fragment, they can add or sentences they compose. Here again,
fragment is an “incomplete sentence”; delete words to make it fit into the we can take advantage of the
to apply this definition, however, frame and thereby change the frag- unconscious linguistic knowledge of
students must understand what a ment into a genuine sentence. There is students, this time their uncanny
sentence is. To understand what a no need to define a sentence formally ability to produce negative sentences

T38 Essays on Teaching Grammar

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and yes-no questions, to assist stu-

dents in identifying helping verbs.
If we examine the following sen-
tences, we see that a helping verb is a
word that immediately precedes the
negative element (–n’t or not) in
negated sentences or the word that
gets fronted in yes-no questions.

EXAMPLES
1. Jim should go to the football game.
[Transform this into a negative sen-
tence or a question.]
Jim shouldn’t go to the football
game.
Should Jim go to the football game?
2. Jim went to the football game.
Jim didn’t go to the football game.
Did Jim go to the football game?
take advantage of this knowledge in main verb be. Teaching students to use
If we have students transform teaching the basics of grammar. the main-verb frames and the helping-
declarative sentences into either verb transformations can reduce
negative sentences or yes-no confusion over the function of be in a
questions, we can help them identify Main Verb Be sentence. Further, having students
helping verbs. Again, there is no need The main verb be (as in They were memorize the main-verb forms of be
to define helping verb formally. friends) is especially tricky because, can reduce the confusion even more.
Though students may have never unlike other main verbs, it moves to
heard of the term helping verb (or the front in yes-no questions (Were
auxiliary verb) before, they already they friends?). It also takes the negative Identifying Subjects
unconsciously know what it is if they element in negative sentences (They Once students have identified the verb
can produce a corresponding negative weren’t friends). The main verb be can of a sentence, they can easily identify
sentence or a corresponding yes-no thus masquerade as the helping verb the subject. To identify the latter, they
question from a declarative sentence. be (compare They were friends to They can insert the verb in the question
Making such transformations requires were running). To make matters worse, frame below and then answer the
complex linguistic knowledge. Yet, the main verb be appears frequently in question.
remarkably, we don’t have to teach student writing. Indeed, when we
Simple-Subject Frame:
students how to do this. If students complain that our students write with
Who or what __________?
are fluent or near-fluent in spoken too many be verbs, we really mean the
English, they already know it, as amply main verb be, not the helping verb be. In most cases, the answer to the
demonstrated in their daily speech. This gives all the more reason for question will be the subject of the
What we need to do, however, is to students to be able to identify the sentence.

Essays on Teaching Grammar T39

CA_NAT_GUM_Hbk_ATE06_FM_T24-T45 4/14/08 9:12 AM Page T40

non-native, bring to the language arts

classroom every day.

Further References
DeBeaugrande, Robert. “Forward to
the Basics: Getting Down to
Grammar.” College Composition
and Communication 35 (1984):
358–67.
Noguchi, Rei R. Grammar and the
Teaching of Writing: Limits and
Possibilities. Urbana, IL: National
Council of Teachers of English.
1991. ■

Rei R. Noguchi, Professor of English

and Linguistics at California State
Applying Knowledge passive voice and can help students University, Northridge, has taught
choose the correct case of personal courses in linguistics to practicing and
of Subjects and Verbs pronouns. In short, knowing how prospective language arts teachers for
Being able to identify subjects and to identify subjects and verbs leads to over twenty years. He is the author
verbs brings considerable payoffs. It an understanding of a host of other of Grammar and the Teaching of
will help students understand clause, concepts. Writing: Limits and Possibilities
which, in turn, will help them under- (NCTE). When not teaching or writ-
stand independent (or main) clause ing, he enjoys reading, bicycling, and
and subordinate (or dependent) clause. Conclusion
following various kinds of sports, par-
Understanding these terms will help For many language arts teachers, ticularly baseball.
them better understand the notion of teaching grammar is both a labor of
sentence, which, in turn, will help love and a love of labor. Many of us
them better understand and correct like the notion of grammar as a sys-
any unintentional fragment or run-on tem, the wholes and parts fitting into
sentence. (Think also of all the punc- place. Yet too often we struggle with
tuation rules that directly or indirectly difficult concepts and often with
refer to these structures.) Being able to indifferent students. We can make the
identify subjects and verbs will cer- labor of teaching grammar less—and,
tainly help students identify errors in hopefully, the love of grammar more
subject-verb agreement, errors in for both teacher and student—if we
verb-tense consistency, and even the take advantage of the prodigious pri-
overuse of main verb be. This skill can vate linguistic knowledge that all flu-
also help students identify verbs in the ent speakers of English, native and

T40 Essays on Teaching Grammar

Exploring the Variety of Random
Documents with Different Content
Revolution. I indict them much less for their swift deeds in the early
days of the Revolution than for their settled policy after the
Revolution was accomplished, although they must have known that
both the one and the other would give the enemies of Russia in
Western Europe the excuse for invading her for which they were
looking.
No consideration was shown of the effect upon the Russian town
populations of the attempt to carry out their complete party
programme, with its consequent provocation of blockades,
embargoes and wars, at a time when three years of war with
Germany had used up even the vast Russian resources and worn
her weary soldiers to the very bone and marrow of them. One noted
Bolshevik met my remonstrances against the policy, which meant the
wilful sacrifice of the entire population of Petrograd, with the words:
“But the population of one city, what is that? Three-quarters of a
million? Well, but there are plenty of millions left in Russia.”
This is the true militarist psychology. I almost imagined I heard Mr.
Winston Churchill speak; or General Ludendorff; or Marshal Foch.
The inevitable consequence of forcing a programme upon a
people unripe for it, or unwilling, is tyranny and terror. In Ireland it is
the tyranny of the minority. In Russia it is the tyranny of the minority.
In Russia it is called the “dictatorship of the proletariat,” a mere
phrase, apt as most clever phrases to enslave and corrupt. The
dictatorship of the proletariat means, in Russia, the dictatorship of a
handful of clever political economists, very few of whom are
proletarians, over an immense mass of peasants and workmen.
Their intelligent support they drew from the workmen of the towns,
their tacit support from the peasants, whom they bribed with the
promise of land. Indeed, they established a system of virtual peasant
proprietorship, creating a thousand vested interests where one had
existed before, and yielding up the first plank in their programme in
the very first hour of their power!
I do not charge the Bolshevik leaders with wilfully contriving terror
and torture. I do not suggest they wallowed delightedly in the blood
of fellow creatures. Ignorant and lustful brutes, self-elevated to
power in remote towns and villages, did deeds in the name of the
Soviet which make distressing reading. The official Terror of the
Government was aimed at their own firm establishment and not
carried on for the mere pleasure of killing. But the Communist
philosophy predicates terror, and advocates its ruthless use against
the adversary in the supposed interests of a glorious eventuality. To
such lengths does the policy that the end justifies the means bring
men and women otherwise humane! To such dangers is a population
brought which permits its minority to ride rough-shod over the
majority as in Russia!
That Lenin and the others sincerely desired peace in the beginning
I am convinced. At Brest-Litovsk they issued a manifesto to the world
which, for the idealism of its language and the beauty of its appeal,
has not been surpassed in the political and diplomatic history of
mankind. It was a plea to all the nations and their governments to
stop fighting and to make peace upon the basis of self-determination
for the nations and without penal indemnities for the conquered, the
programme afterwards professed by Allied statesmen in order to
undermine the resistance of the German people. The crime of
rejecting this proposal rests with Germans and Allies alike. Mutual
fears, hates, mistrusts were too strong, too deeply ingrained, and the
Russian idealists were despised and rejected of men!
The Trotsky who raised the banner of universal peace at Brest-
Litovsk, the prince of pacifists, became the prince of militarists, the
great war lord of a hundred and fifty millions of people stung to arms
again. The marvellously revived and sternly disciplined armies of
Trotsky have performed miracles of soldier-craft which have filled an
astonished world with reluctant admiration, tossing aside their
enemies, Judenitch, Petlura, Koltchak, Denikin, and Wrangel, like
terriers in a barn full of rats. Such exploits and the sympathetic
agitation they aroused in the Allied countries compelled the Allies to
face facts, always a difficult thing for them to do; and the outstanding
fact of the situation is that, whether Bolshevism be approved or not,
Soviet Russia must be taken into account in the shaping of the
foreign policies of the Western Powers by a statesman who does not
wish to go down to posterity as the worst kind of detrimental.
 I am not a Communist in the Russian sense of the term. And the
Communism of primitive Christianity, voluntary and unselfish,
appears not to be practical politics at the moment. I believe that the
system called Capitalism will have to give place some day to a
collectivist internationalism which shall secure life and the fruits of
the earth to its populations in proportion to their needs. I believe this
change will come about slowly as the intelligence of the peoples
develops, as they become acquainted with facts and see
demonstrated before their eyes the insufficiency, insecurity and
injustice of a system based upon production for profit rather than for
use. Such things as are fundamental to life itself—land, minerals and
means of communication—should not be at the disposal and under
the control of a small number of private persons any more than the
army, the navy and the arsenals. It is too unsafe. For the rest: Those
things of which there is an abundant supply might not unreasonably
be held privately; provided that nobody who desires them goes
without, and nobody’s private ownership inflicts injury on the
community at large.
But the Russian Communists favour the complete abolition of
private property down to the books one reads and the clothes one
wears. This programme they have carried out by methods of
wholesale and swift confiscation without the slightest consideration
for the unfortunate owners, creating new injustices in order to
remove the old, and provoking thereby the inevitable reaction. This is
of the essence of the revolutionary method. It is not happy for
Russia. It would be just as unhappy for England or America.
The Bolshevik Government is now in the fourth year of its
existence. This fact is adduced by its admirers in this country as a
mark of super-excellence. Truly at a time when European
Governments are changed with the regularity and rapidity of moving
pictures at a theatre some credit is due to a Government which can
survive the shocks of war and revolution through nearly four years of
Europe’s stormiest history.
But the long life of the present Russian Government is due to
three or four primary causes. It is due to Allied support of counter-
revolutionary movements, which drew every section of the Russian
population together for common defence against the foreign intruder.
It is due to the fact that no alternative government has presented
itself with a programme which would give more food and furniture,
clothes and medicines to the people of Russia. It is due to the fear of
the Extraordinary Commission with its agents and spies and prisons
and executioners. But above all it is due—and particularly in these
latter days since the fear of foreign invasion has departed—to the
acceptance by Lenin and his friends of moderate counsels, and the
gradually achieved ascendancy in the government of the nation of
the more moderate men amongst the Bolsheviks.
It is, and always has been, a mistake to assume that all the
Bolshevik leaders are equally extreme. It was not true when we
visited Russia in May, 1920. It is much less true to-day. During the
period of civil wars and Allied invasions the extreme element was
dominant. Now the moderates rule. Lenin has never wavered from
his fixed idea of world-communism and world-revolution; but he has
proved his greatness to his friends and has confounded his enemies
by yielding to the necessity for compromise, making deals with the
alien capitalist governments and with the native individualist
peasants alike.
Turning to my other pages on Russia for the estimate I there
recorded of the keen-brained, merry-eyed fanatic of the Kremlin (for
the wisdom and statesmanship of twelve months later have
astonished me as much as they have surprised most people), I
discovered the following sentences:
“He (Lenin) impressed me with his fanaticism. This is surely the
source of his driving power. And yet I am told that compared with the
really fanatical Communist Lenin is mildness itself, and should be
classed with the ‘Right.’ It was rumoured that he is engaged on a
new book to be given the name ‘The Infant Diseases of
Communism,’ or some such title, which suggests an honest
confession of mistakes made in the early days of the commune. If
this be true there is hope of happiness for Russia yet. But I must
confess his firm belief in the necessity of violence for the
establishment throughout the world of his ideals makes one doubt
miserably.”
 I no longer doubt Lenin’s capacity. More than that I am inclined to
believe that history will accord to him one of her foremost places
when the tale of these times comes to be told, in spite of the terrible
blunders and awful crimes for which he will, in part, be held
responsible. It takes either a true lover of his country or one who
having tasted power knows how to keep it, to confess his mistakes in
the ear of a listening world apt to say “I told you so.” If Lenin loves
power and means to keep it, I, who differ from him in aim and loathe
with a deadly loathing his past methods, declare my conviction that it
is for no selfish end that he seeks to preserve his hold upon the
Russian nation, but for the good of his cause and for the ultimate
realization of his dreams that he has risked unpopularity with his
extreme supporters, and has met half-way the capitalists at home
and abroad. The following sentences extracted from his speech to
the Annual Congress of the Russian Communist Party held on
March 7, 1921, promise a bright era for Russia yet:
“As far back as April, 1918, it was thought that the civil war was
concluded. In March, 1920, the Soviet Government supposed that a
period of peace was beginning, but already in the following month
the Polish attack was launched. This experience teaches us that we
should not cherish undue optimism, although at the present time
there is not a single enemy soldier on Russian territory. Our internal
affairs are concerned mainly with problems of demobilization, food
supplies and fuel. We have made mistakes in the distribution of the
food supplies, although these supplies were much greater than in
previous years. Difficulties with fuel were due to the fact that we
began to renew our industries at too rapid a rate. We over-estimated
our powers in the transition from war-time to peace-time
management. Agriculture is passing through a period of crisis, not
only in consequence of the imperial and civil war, but also because
the new State mechanism is building up its methods of work only by
a gradual process, and for that reason it still makes mistakes from
time to time. The most important political problem of the present
period is the relation between the peasants and the industrial
population which in Russia preponderates to a considerable degree.
The international situation is marked by an unusually slow
development of the revolutionary movement throughout the world,
and in no case do we look for its speedy victory. The Soviet
Government is therefore considering the question of the necessity
for an agreement with the bourgeois Governments, which would
result in the granting of concessions to foreign capitalists in Russia.
The agricultural population, which supposes that the Czarist
generals are no longer a menace to it and that it is receiving too
small a share of industrial products, considers that the sacrifices
demanded of it are too great. We must show consideration for the
efforts of the agricultural workers. We are introducing a natural food
tax which will be distributed in proportion to the resources of the
peasantry, and will give a free scope of activity to their material
interests. This tax will absorb only a portion of the agricultural
worker’s produce. What he has left he will be able to sell by means
of local markets and trade. And just as the concessions are to
provide us with the means of production for our industries, so, too,
by showing consideration for the wishes of the agricultural worker,
we are at the same time mitigating the agricultural crisis and
improving at the same time the relationship between the working
classes in the cities and the peasantry. The question of the natural
food tax is the most important problem of the Soviet policy. The
accomplishment of this task is beset with serious obstacles, and
demands the closest concentration of the Party, as well as a clear
understanding of the difficulties delaying the dictatorship of the
proletarist in a petty bourgeois state.”
Thus passes at a stroke the communal ownership of the fruits of
the land as well as of the land itself! Thus return the bourgeois
institution of private trading and the ancient exploitation of the
concessionaire! It was inevitable, and the wise man bowed to the
necessity. Lenin’s line is the one upon which I hoped and believed
that Russia’s future might develop, the line which, but for the
fanaticism of a comparative few, once including Lenin, might have
been taken very much earlier with advantage to Russia and the rest
of Europe.
But whether this line of slower and more peaceful development will
be permitted to Russia remains to be seen. I sincerely hope it may.
There are discontented democrats, however, rightly insisting on the
speedy restoration of democratic political methods. They want the
Zemstvo restored and the National Constituent Assembly. They want
simple and equal adult suffrage, as much for the peasants as for the
townsfolk. They want vote by ballot. They want freedom of thought,
of speech and of the press. They want restrictions on labour
removed and freedom of contract restored. They want free trade.
Will these good things be given back to the Russians at an early
date? I am very hopeful. A good beginning has just been made.
If Lenin has restored to himself and his Government by his drastic
reform of the levy on the peasants, those vast millions of Russian
folk, he can, if he chooses, continue his regime for an indefinite time.
With such modifications in the system as I have just named this
would be the best way out of Russia’s present distressing state, for,
should counter-revolution arise and spread, a new chaos would
almost certainly follow, opening up dreadful possibilities for the
population; and for the watchful and greedy adventurers, out to carve
a kingdom for themselves from Russia’s enormous territories, or
thirsty to exploit her unimaginable resources of precious metals and
rich forests in their own selfish interests, would present the
opportunities they are palpitating to use.
But there is yet another element threatening the future happiness
of Russia—her own Napoleons, and the flushed and triumphant
militarism which supports them. Trotsky has the reputation of an
extremist. There is said to be a coldness between Lenin and himself.
It is commonly believed that he will not readily disband the army that
he has created and employed with such signal success. Not only
that, but he believes with many others that Bolshevism can only
survive if a strong, active and triumphant army supports it. He
believes that the conquest of the East for Bolshevism will not only
keep the soldiers busy and add to the glory of Russian arms, but will
menace the proud empires which have caused so much
unnecessary suffering to his people, and which are still opposing the
interests of Russia, though in less apparent fashion. It is openly said
in Moscow that Trotsky himself is the coming Napoleon.
The Russo-Polish peace signed at Riga on March 18, 1921, and
ratified by Poland on April 16 points rather in the other direction;
unless, as is suggested, it was signed through fear of defeat or in
order to clear the way for a concentration of warlike operations in the
Caucasus and the Near East. The fear of defeat it is impossible to
believe in. Russia is too big to be defeated.
The recent news from the Caucasus, however, supplies conclusive
evidence, as far as it goes, of a distinctively imperialist policy, which
recks as little of the right of self-determination as the policies of
capitalist governments. A treaty with Kemal Pasha and joint action
between the Turkish Nationalists and the Bolsheviks against
Armenia (that pitiful victim of Allied policy), and Georgia, promised
self-government and independence by Moscow only a few months
previously; the domination of Azerbaijan from Moscow for the
security to Russia of the oil supplies of Baku; the intrusion of Soviet
politics into Persia with its intended threat to British interests in India;
Bolshevik propaganda marching with the armies or bulging from the
portfolios of the political and diplomatic agents of Russia—these
things and others, have an alarming appearance of old-fashioned
militarist Imperialism very disturbing to those who wish well to
Russia, and who long desperately that she shall not copy too closely
the aims and methods of the discredited diplomacy of the Western
Powers, even though it be on behalf of the whole nation and not of a
single class that the methods of conquest and spoliation be
employed.
The alliance between Kemal Pasha and the Bolsheviks can have
no other meaning than a common design to embarrass the Entente’s
plans in the Near East, and to menace British and French capitalist
interests in India, Mesopotamia and Angora. Kemal Pasha is no
more a Bolshevik than the man in the moon. The cynical Radek is
clearly aware of all this. He wrote in the Moscow Pravda of January
26, 1921, examining the possibility of the revision of the Treaty of
Sèvres and the consequent desertion of themselves by Kemal and
his army:
“Which way Kemal Pasha will choose we certainly cannot say; but
we have never been so simple as to throw ourselves unreservedly in
the embraces of the Nationalists of the East. It is an absolute
necessity for us to be on guard, and not only to be awake but to act
also. The stronger we are on the Caucasus the more solid our
position in Turkestan, the more real our assistance, the more certain
shall we be to hasten the development of the East in the direction
and in the interests of world revolution.”
He rejoices in the same article on the complete Bolshevization of
Georgia, the recalcitrant, whilst his colleague, Steklov, in Isvestia of
January 30, 1921, wrote with equal cynicism of removing “the black
point” (Georgia) from the Caucasus, and so making easy joint action
between the Kemalists and themselves against the armies serving
the interests of the Entente. Thus, in spite of solemn pledges,
promises of protection, League of Nations covenants and the rest,
the wretched Armenians are tossed into the laps of new tyrants, the
close associates of the old, whose unspeakable cruelties towards
their hapless dependents have scandalized mankind for generations;
whilst the unhappy Georgians have had to stop their constructive
work for social democracy to defend themselves almost with bare
fists against the faithless Russian hordes whose leaders had
guaranteed their independence. Of this I shall write elsewhere.

Writing these words in the warmth of a bright April sun, within sight
of trees weighed down with vast masses of snowy blossom, the pink
and white of the cherry and the apple, a soft wind from the valley
blowing gently in at the tiny casement window, the mind turns to the
quite other scenes of exactly a year ago. In the imagination are
pictured the endless plains of Russia with the patient peasant
walking at midnight behind his span of oxen and his wooden plough;
the brown, muddy waters of the rolling Volga with its picturesque
rafts carrying whole villages; the red-robed Kalmuk priest in the cold
moonlight; the glittering domes of Moscow’s thousand churches; the
dull, pale-faced hungry crowds of Petrograd; the happy children,
utterly fearless, on the great estates of vanished proprietors; the lazy
routine of numberless offices; the careworn and incompetent high
officials, with their indolent staffs and littered desks and stuffy
buildings; the talkative Commissars; the strife, the passion, the
idealism of it all.
In Moscow sits Tchicherine, master of the foreign policy of a
country the size of Europe. Who would have expected Tchicherine to
achieve such an exalted position in so short a time who had seen
this delicate man fidgeting on the edge of his chair in the office of the
National Council for Civil Liberties, seeking the help for Russian
prisoners in England of the Council’s Executive Committee? His thin,
artistic fingers tapped the table nervously as he spoke in a high-
pitched rather strained voice. His manner was shrinking. He lacked
the usual voluble earnestness of the Socialist exile. He suggested
the gentle and refined artist, the man of taste and leisure. He was full
of a timid courtesy. His diffidence was a temptation to the coarse and
undiscerning to be rough and contemptuous of the suppliant.
When we saw him in Moscow he looked as though all the woes of
the world had been laid by force upon his frail and inadequate
shoulders. His clothes appeared to be many sizes too big for him. He
looked over his collar like a frightened owl over a hedge fence. Soft
and slow of speech, but of quick intelligence and with the clearest
outlook, his true friend would none the less wish him a happier fate
than to be Minister of State in a country so full of tangled problems
as Russia in these dreadful days. Making beautiful music to a
company of congenial souls, the samovar steaming merrily and the
song going gaily behind warm, close curtains, in the light of a bright
fire, till the dawn on the horizon told of the coming day, is the proper
life for this gentle Minister, whom to know is to like. Perhaps such a
dream-picture comes to him in the small hours of many a weary
morning to cheer him to renewed efforts in the cause which alone,
he believes, can make his dreams come true.
“You will never go to Russia again, of course,” said a friend. “They
would never let you come out alive.” But I shall go to Russia again
some day. I shall go because Russia is the kind of country which,
having once won you, claims your interest and affection for all time.
You cannot escape the love of her. She draws in a fatal way all who
have come under her magic spell.
 Russia is crammed full of mystery. Nobody can define her. Her
people are lovable, beautiful, idealistic, spiritual; but coarse and cruel
too. They are a race of artists with gifts of this sort for mankind that
have not yet been dreamt of. Russia is not Bolshevism. This hard,
cruel phase will pass, is already passing. What the next chapter in
Russian history will be who can tell? What Russia’s contribution will
be to the world’s political problems who will dare to prophesy?
A generation is growing up in Russia which has seen fearful things
and done dreadful deeds. Its children have grown weary, toying with
corpses. But in spite of that I am sure that Russia will justify the
brightest hopes of her. That her gift to mankind will be a great
contribution both materially and spiritually I am convinced. At present
the land of mystery calls for our aid and co-operation. She will give to
us more than we can give to her. But for many years to come she will
be clothed in mystery for most, until the material blends with the
spiritual and the oneness of life becomes known to all the nations of
the earth.
I must tell a true story of Moscow. Hauntingly, like a strange, sad
dream, comes the remembrance of that nightly experience in the big
city. Every morn, at the same hour, the hour when the last rays of
twilight give instant place to the first beams of morning light, the hour
of two, a woman’s clear voice rang out in a mournful strain,
sometimes piercingly shrill, sometimes pathetic; sometimes a tender
moan, sometimes a scream of agony; never joyous, ever tormented.
The singing seemed to come from the building opposite the hotel
where we were lodged, a building which looked like a factory. The
song was always the same.

Larghissimo e con angore.

The key was changed for every repetition of the wailing song.
Sometimes a line was omitted. Sometimes only three or four notes of
a line were sung. A pause of the proper length was made whenever
notes were left out of a line, or for the whole line when this was not
sung, and the tune resumed at the end of the pause, thus:

Larghissimo e con angore.

The effect was weird and torturing. Whom could it be? What could
it mean? Was some sick creature housed opposite? Was some poor
woman kept a prisoner by force? Was it a piece of religious ritual?
Was somebody mad?
I spoke to one or two of my colleagues about it. They slept soundly
and heard nothing. I inquired of the Bolshevik servants. They knew
nothing about it. A Bolshevik secretary had the room next to mine.
Often he typed all night. Sometimes he paced the room till the day
dawned. He could scarcely fail to hear the voice. But he could not
help me.
Perhaps some Russian reading this book will write and tell me the
meaning of that torturing cry, of that singing ghost which is one of my
liveliest memories. She shall be, till then, the symbol of all Russia,
tragic, seductive, mysterious; the bride of the East calling to the
bridegroom of the West to come and set her free for the marriage
which is to be fruitful for the happiness of mankind.
 CHAPTER X
FROM RUSSIA BY SWEDEN AND GERMANY

On our way from Saratov on the Volga, to Reval, the interesting

old capital of Esthonia, my colleagues and I discussed the possibility
of returning to London via Berlin. Dr. Haden Guest and I were
especially interested in the condition of child-life in the German
cities, he from the point of view of a humane medical man, I as a
member of the Executive Committee of the Save the Children Fund,
charged with the administration of large sums of money for the relief
of the suffering children of Europe. A view of the problem at close
quarters would be valuable to our various committees, and useful to
ourselves as propagandists.
Reval is a quaint old city, with odd winding streets and cobbled
roads. Its harbour is very fine; but at the time of our visit in June,
1920, it showed very few signs of an awakening commerce. The
position of the Border Republics was very uncertain, both politically
and militarily, and the social condition of the people was lamentable.
The fear and hatred of Bolshevism was upon them. The minefields of
the Baltic had not been cleared up, which added difficulties to the
trade with Sweden, prolonging the voyages and reducing the number
of sailings owing to the necessity of careful and roundabout
navigation. Finland was too poor to attempt to sweep them; and
perhaps a little reluctant through fear of Russia, her powerful
neighbour. The Allies were indifferent, and still giving aid and comfort
to counter-revolutionaries of all sorts. Anything which added to the
miseries of Russia they were slow to destroy; but Russia’s near
neighbours suffered also.
Poverty and hunger abounded in Esthonia. The shops were
almost empty of goods. The value of money was incredibly low.
Enough roubles to paper a room could be bought for an English
pound. The British Military Mission was obliged to have a large part
of its necessary stores sent from home or from Denmark on account
of the scarcity; which added to the cost of the mess and made the
hospitality so freely and graciously offered a gift of more than
ordinary value.
What extraordinarily good fellows were those British officers in
Reval! It would be invidious to mention names; but it was perfectly
clear why they were so universally popular. A well known and
genuine interest in the people they had come to help was the
foundation of it.
Mr. Leslie, the able and courteous young British Consul, facilitated
our departure from Reval to the best of his ability, and we cast off
from all Russian or related contacts on the third day after our arrival
in the city. Our destination was Stockholm, where we hoped to get
the necessary visa for Germany.
No words can adequately describe the voyage through those
lovely Finnish islands. The nearest approach to it is the trip through
the Canadian Lake of the Woods or the Greek Archipelago. The little
islands stood out like emeralds against the clear horizon line of
glowing pink, yellowing into the deep blue of the night sky, with its
crescent moon and evening star. The ice-blue waters were as placid
as a lake, and no sound but the swish of the ship’s propeller
disturbed the heavenly stillness that held us through the greater part
of the night. Wealthy Americans who rush to Europe to see beauties
which abound in their own country might do a service to mankind by
popularizing this tour.
We were compelled to submit to medical examination both in
Reval and Stockholm, but this being satisfactory, we proceeded to
our hotel. The trip to Russia obliged us to spend two weeks in
Stockholm, one week each way, because of the infrequency of boats
to Russia; which gave us the opportunity of making some interesting
acquaintances, and seeing with some degree of thoroughness the
most beautiful city of Northern Europe, well wooded and spotlessly
clean, and threaded through and through with canals and waterways
—a veritable “Venice of the North.”
 Amongst these new acquaintances was a lady I first met in
Geneva at the conference of the Save the Children Fund. The
Countess Wilamowitz-Moellendorf is a lovely woman of about thirty-
two years of age, tall and graceful as a lily, with a lily’s whiteness in
her skin, and a lily’s pale gold in her hair. She has a soft voice and a
gentle blue eye, which occasionally sparkles with pure mischief. She
possesses the elegance and simplicity of manner of the ancien
régime, to which she belongs, and has the gift of humour, suggestive
of the Irish strain that is actually hers. Her distinguished husband
died during the war at Bagdad and lies buried there. She has an only
child, a graceful girl of sixteen growing up into the likeness of her
beautiful mother.
This charming woman and devoted mother, Swede by birth and
German by marriage, is giving herself without stint to the work of
saving the starving babies of Europe. She also has ideas on Labour
and International questions which would raise the ghosts of many of
her departed friends did they but know these. She attended with me
a meeting at the Volkshaus in Stockholm to hear an address by a
Labour speaker, and I saw with what regard she is held by the
Radical forces of the city.
One day she came to the British Labour delegation to ask their
interest in a matter of relief. The Swedish Red Cross, hearing of the
epidemics in Russia, and particularly in Petrograd, organized a relief
expedition comprising sanitary engineers, plumbers, doctors and
nurses to the number of almost a hundred, with supplies of
medicines, soaps, disinfectants, and all the equipment of a sanitary
and medical expedition. Prince Charles, President of the Red Cross,
was extremely anxious that the Mission should set out. He had
written twice to the Russian Foreign Office offering his gift; but,
although weeks had passed, there was no reply. Would it be
possible for us to see Tchicherine and get something definite from
him, either an acceptance or a rejection, so that in the event of the
latter the Mission might proceed elsewhere?
Some of us saw Prince Charles and heard the story from his own
lips. His sincerity was impressive. We promised to do what we could.
This grave Swedish prince is a man of distinguished appearance,
with a manner of great reserve. He is tall, grey haired and blue eyed,
with strong, fine hands. His royal reserve melted for a moment and
his blue eyes softened with appreciation when I ventured softly to
commiserate him on the death of Sweden’s popular Crown Princess,
who had died the preceding day. We left his presence reinforced in
the belief that humane feeling and practical social service are the
disposition and occupation of no particular class. They are the
characteristics of the generous and refined of all classes. We told the
story to Tchicherine when we saw him; but I very much doubt if the
royal gift were accepted. The Russians trust only the Society of
Friends. All other relief organizations do propaganda against the
Soviet Government, they allege.
One of the most interesting personalities I met in Stockholm was
the great traveller and scientist, the friend of kings and kaisers, the
distinguished supporter of Germany, Sven Hedin. I lunched at his
house in company with some of my fellow delegates. It is a lovely
home, especially his own room. This room is lined with exquisitely
bound books and filled with curios of priceless value collected during
many marvellous journeyings. Signed photographs of numerous
monarchs stand in the recesses and on tables. Rich Oriental carpets
cover the floor, and precious hangings of rarest quality add colour
and character to the room.
He is a remarkably handsome man, with a mass of raven hair
slightly tinged with grey, brushed but rebellious; and brilliant eyes,
flashing thought. He has a happy manner, full of little gallantries. He
possesses the great and saving gift of humour, can be gaily ironical
and ironically severe. He is unmarried; but is tenderly devoted to his
adoring family of aged mother and gifted sisters. He has an
astounding capacity for work, sleeps a little in the afternoon and then
works till 4 o’clock every morning. We had great argument with him,
which changed neither his opinion nor our own. But there was no
crudity of speech or manner on either side to spoil our reputation in a
neutral city, or to lessen the quality of his generous hospitality.
The Countess succeeded in getting permission for us to go to
Berlin. She introduced us to the German Minister to Sweden, and
Prince Wied of the Legation, who were touched by our interest in the
children of Berlin. The tax upon aliens entering Germany—at this
time about 60 marks—was graciously remitted in our case as we
were going on relief work, and we booked our places on train and
steamer and began to pack our bags.

The last day in Stockholm was spent most happily with Mr.
Branting and his gifted wife at their country house two hours’
distance up the straits. Mr. Branting was at this time Prime Minister
of Sweden, whose Government was preponderatingly Social
Democratic. He and his colleagues in the Cabinet had richly
entertained the British delegates to Russia on their way out. This
meeting of the great man in his home was of a more precious and
intimate character.
The good-natured statesman at home is all that his kindly
personality promised it would be. Considerate of the guest who took
no wine he had provided specially for her needs. We had lunch in
the garden, our table shaded by trees from the hot sun and placed in
view of the quiet waters of the channel. Neighbouring houses
embedded in foliage peeped at us from leafy bowers. There was no
trace of a wind. Bright sunshine filtering through the leaves made a
pattern upon the short smooth grass. It was an ideal place for a tired
politician seeking to escape for a while from the sordid squabbles
and bitter feuds of his profession.
The first time I saw Mr. Branting was at an Allied Socialist
Conference in London. His burly form and erect grey hair, standing
squarely off a broad forehead, as if seeking to escape from the brush
of a pair of fierce, shaggy eyebrows, his large powerful hands and
the broad shoulders of a Viking gave him a command over the
assembly which a rather weak voice and a slow and deliberate
speech might otherwise have diminished. He speaks several
languages well, although one who speaks these better, an impish
member of the fraternity of the press, whispered to me in Berne that
“Mr. Branting confuses the delegates admirably in seven languages!”
 On this occasion his wife was dressed in forget-me-not blue, which
matched her eyes and set off her fair skin to perfection. Her light,
fluffy hair was softly tucked under a large garden hat designed for
the sun. She has the strong prejudices mingled with the charm of the
French-woman that I am told she is. Mr. Branting is her second
husband, and her son has adopted the name of his step-father. She
is a writer of books with some claim to serious attention, but I have
the misfortune not to have read any of them. She is a delightful
hostess, a devoted wife and a very charming woman.
Branting was at this time gravely concerned about the effects of
the Peace of Versailles and the Allied policy towards Russia. His
Allied predilections during the war entitled his opinions to the gravest
consideration, and he expressed himself of the opinion that the
conduct of both France and England towards Germany and Russia
was conceived in a spirit hostile to true internationalism, and was
calculated to produce new wars by reviving old hates. The claim was
being made that Russia should pay for the damage due to her
withdrawal from the war. Russia retorted by demanding payment for
damage done in Russia by counter-revolutionaries paid by England
and France. Branting agreed there was logic in the retort. Anti-
Bolshevik to the last ounce of him, he none the less regretted a
policy which he believed could only have the effect of strengthening
the Bolshevik power.
We bade farewell to our good friends at the water’s edge and
boarded the steamer for Stockholm and the night journey towards
Berlin. The Countess accompanied us, and she and I shared a
compartment. The swift Swedish express brought us by morning to
the Trellborg-Sassnitz steamer which conveyed us across waters as
smooth as a lake to the German side.

We could only spend four days in Berlin. We had therefore

carefully to map out a programme so as to accomplish as much as
possible. There were the courtesy calls at the British Embassy and
the British Military Mission to be made first. At both places the
greatest interest was manifested in our trip to Russia. We told the
story to Lord Kilmarnock over a pleasant cup of tea at the Embassy,
and repeated it to General Malcolm and his staff at the Military
Mission during lunch.
But I was extremely anxious, if it could be done in the time, to see
representative men and women of every shade of German politics.
The Countess was of the greatest possible help in bringing us into
touch with one section. The German Foreign Office was equally
obliging. British newspaper men gave a hand, with the result that we
actually accomplished our desire in this respect, and left Berlin
having seen the spokesmen of every party in the Reichstag. We
found time to visit the Reichstag in session, and had the experience
of hearing the speech of Herr Fehrenbach and seeing the dignified
temper of the Assembly under circumstances of extreme trial and
provocation.
The Allied representatives in Berlin were seriously concerned at
the time with Germany’s alleged defaulting in the matter of
disarmament. Our generous Britons, with not an ounce of ignorant
hate in them, were not quite sure that Germany was not playing a
game of gigantic bluff. It was impossible for me to believe that, after
talking with many cultivated and sincere Germans. Fear of
Communists on the part of the middle classes as strong as the fear
in France of Germany; fear of the Junkers and the middle classes on
the part of the Communists (of whom it was alleged there are
500,000 in Germany), was responsible for the charges of concealed
guns and hidden rifles freely made by both sides. The Communists
had thousands of rifles hidden in the woods, it was wildly said. The
Junkers had quantities of ammunition and machine-guns secretly
stored for future use against the common people was the counter-
charge. It was this fear that put the Englishman Phillips Price on the
side of the Allies in their demand for Germany’s complete
disarmament. This interesting character has given up his wealth in
England, embraced political Communism and married a German
workgirl. When I saw him he looked very happy, rejoicing in the birth
of a child to him. He, as guileless as many another, believed that
France would disarm when the Germans were made helpless. With
a truer estimate of the realities Germany refused to be convinced.
Hence the passionate plea from her political leaders for more
consideration of her difficulties, which had been interpreted by the
Allies as a crafty attempt to evade the terms of the Treaty.

Amongst the politicians I saw in Berlin was a little group of

German Nationalists. The most distinguished of them was the uncle
of my gentle Swedish friend, a scholar of international reputation
whom the great Universities of this country delighted to honour
before the war, Professor Wilamowitz-Moellendorf. He is a proud and
gentle old man, whose white hair only gives the impression of many
years, with a grave scholarly manner, and an air of great distinction.
His reasonable and proper regret was that scholarship and culture
should have steeped itself in the vulgar passions of the slum and the
gutter during the years of war, forgetting their dignity and worth in the
disgusting welter of political hates. All the time his speech about
England was courteous and kind, and though his Oxford friends had
given him just cause for resentment, he kept his happier memories
of her green. His was not the anger of that other scholar, Herr
Edouard Meyer, half mad with the sense of injustice and wrong.
This little group of German Nationalists met me in the splendid
lobby of one of the big Berlin hotels, and in a quiet corner we
discussed the then political situation and the ominous signs of the
times. There was the usual keen interest in the Russian adventure.
Professor Wilamowitz-Moellendorf was not present on this occasion.
The most remarkable personality of the group was a tall soldierly
man whose stern expression of face and grey hair were possible
relics of bitter war experiences. After a few idle phrases in
complimentary vein, he turned suddenly upon me and demanded
fiercely: “Mrs. Snowden, why have you come to Germany?”
The sudden question startled me, but I concealed my surprise and
replied: “Ever since the publication of the Peace Treaty I have been
trying to come to Germany to tell the people here that there are men
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