Exercise 75
In the following sentences supply necessary capital letters. Explain why the same word in one expression needs a capital and in another does not.
1. I have just taken out an endowment policy in the northwestern mutual life insurance company.
2. There are many mutual life insurance companies in the country.
3. His refusing the terms was practically a declaration of independence.
4. On the fourth of July we celebrate the signing of the declaration of independence, the first step in the revolutionary war.
5. Mexico has had many revolutionary wars.
6. And king Arthur said, “The king who fights his people fights himself.”
7. When does the bank close?
8. I have an account with the first national bank.
9. This is the first national bank that was ever established in this country.
Explain to which class each noun in the foregoing sentences belongs. Be particularly careful to distinguish between common and proper nouns.
Exercise 76—Pronouns
The different classes of pronouns are distinguished as follows:
The personal pronoun is used in place of the name of a person or thing. The pronoun of the first person indicates the speaker, the pronoun of the second person indicates the person spoken to, and the pronoun of the third person indicates the person spoken of. They are declined as follows:
| First person | ||
| Singular | Plural | |
| Nom. | I | we |
| Poss. | my, mine | our, ours |
| Obj. | me | us |
| Second person | ||
| Nom. | you (thou) | you (ye) |
| Poss. | your, yours (thy, thine) | your, yours |
| Obj. | you (thee) | you |
In modern usage you is used for both the singular and the plural, but the verb that goes with you is always plural.
| Third person | ||||
| Singular | Plural | |||
| Masc. | Fem. | Neut. | ||
| Nom. | he | she | it | they |
| Poss. | his | her, hers | its | their, theirs |
| Obj. | him | her | it | them |
Note.—The forms mine, thine, yours, hers, ours, theirs, and sometimes his are possessive case in form, but nominative or objective case in use. That pencil is mine really means, That pencil is my pencil. Mine is used as a substitute for a possessive pronoun and the noun it modifies.
The personal pronouns compounded with self are of two kinds:
1. Emphatic pronouns; as,
The buyer himself told me.
2. Reflexive pronouns, referring back to the subject and at the same time being in the objective case; as,
John slipped and hurt himself.
The relative pronoun is so called because it relates or refers to another word, called its antecedent, to which it joins the clause that it introduces. The relative pronouns are who, which, what, that; and the compound relatives are whoever, whosoever, whichever, whichsoever, whatever, whatsoever.
They are declined as follows:
Singular and Plural
| Nom. | who | which | whoever | whosoever |
| Poss. | whose | of which | whosever | whosesoever |
| Obj. | whom | which | whomever | whomsoever |
That, what, whichever, whichsoever, whatever, and whatsoever are not declined. They have the same form in the nominative and objective cases, and are not used in the possessive case.
What is peculiar in that it never has an antecedent expressed, but itself stands for both antecedent and relative. It is called the double relative. Compare the following:
I did not hear the words that he said.
I did not hear that which he said.
I did not hear what he said.
That is called the restrictive relative, because it limits or restricts its antecedent to the meaning expressed in the clause introduced by that. A restrictive clause is one, therefore, that is needed to make the meaning of the sentence clear. Compare the following:
Non-restrictive: John Brown, who has no disease, needs no physician.
Restrictive: He that hath no disease needs no physician.
Notice that a restrictive, or necessary, clause is not separated from the rest of the sentence by commas.
Who and which are sometimes used with restrictive force; as,
1. Those who have finished their work may leave. (Not everybody.)
2. Have you read the book which he recommended? (He recommended but one.)
Interrogative pronouns are used in asking questions. They are who, which, what. Who refers to persons; which refers to persons or things, and is used to distinguish one object from another; what refers to things. They are declined as follows:
Singular and Plural
| Nom. | who | which | what |
| Poss. | whose | (of which) | (of what) |
| Obj. | whom | which | what |
The interrogative pronouns which and what are frequently used as adjectives. In this case they are called pronominal adjectives. Compare:
Pronoun: Which of these hats do you prefer?
Adjective: Which hat do you prefer?
The demonstrative pronouns are this and that with their plurals these and those. They are always used to point out, or demonstrate, the noun to which they refer. This and these are used for objects near at hand, or recently named; that and those are used for objects far away, or not recently named.
The demonstrative pronouns are frequently used as adjectives; as,
Pronoun: That is my book.
Adjective: That book is mine.
Indefinite pronouns refer to objects or persons, but do not define or limit them. The indefinite pronouns are each, every, either, neither, one, none, other, another, few, all, many, several, some, each other, one another, and the compounds any one, some one, every one, something, nothing. Indefinite pronouns are frequently used as adjectives. Each, every, either, one, another, any one, some one, every one, whether they are used as pronouns or as adjectives, are singular in number. If another pronoun is used to refer to one of them, it must be in the singular number.
Exercise 77—Classes of Pronouns
In the following sentences, explain which pronouns represent the person speaking, which represent the person spoken to, and which represent the person spoken of. Tell which pronouns ask questions; which are used as adjectives; which are used to connect subordinate clauses to the word for which they stand. If the antecedent is expressed, point it out.
1. Who is talking?
2. The man who is speaking is the head of the credit department.
3. If you are going, get ready.
4. Which is the better piece of cloth?
5. This is the better piece of cloth.
6. The one who wishes to succeed must exercise great care in his work.
7. He that would succeed must work.
8. Many men fail because of laziness.
9. What did you say?
10. Can you guess whom I saw?
11. He himself told us.
12. A cousin of ours is coming to town.
13. The man whose life is above criticism need fear no one.
14. Whoever lives the truth need fear no criticism.
15. I wish you would remove those files.
16. Ink that is thick makes illegible writing.
17. What paper should I destroy?
18. I cannot understand what any one is saying.
19. This is not my umbrella. It is yours.
20. No friend of his would talk in that way.
21. This is no book of theirs; it belongs to us.
22. Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.
23. I shall ask whomever I see.
24. Each of us has his work assigned.
25. Every boy has his work assigned.
Exercise 78
In the following sentences he, his, they, their, them, it, or its should be inserted. Give the reason for your choice.
1. No man is allowed to leave —— desk untidy.
2. Every one must put —— tools away before leaving the shop.
3. Every office worker is required to be in —— place at eight-thirty every morning.
4. In my business a person must learn to make up —— mind quickly.
5. It was cold this morning. Every one wore —— wraps.
6. Every clerk must do —— own work.
7. If an employee has ideas for the improvement of the business, —— is requested to report —— suggestions to the superintendent.
8. The superintendent is anxious to have every workman feel that —— (has, have) a definite place in the organization, and that if —— (does not, don’t) do —— work, the business will suffer.
9. No goods will be accepted unless —— (are, is) in good condition.
10. Every newspaper is anxious to increase —— classified advertising.
11. No one cares to see —— friends frown.
12. Every one must agree that —— (has, have) —— faults.
13. Not one of the banks had —— deposits decreased.
14. Will any one let me take —— umbrella?
15. Every one says that —— had a delightful evening.
16. Who was it said I had —— book?
17. Does each state pay over a part of —— taxes to the federal government?
18. Every one will find in the current publications a wealth of information applicable to —— specific needs, much of which —— will wish to file for easy reference, no matter in what department of the world’s work —— interest centers.
19. If any one could tell beforehand when —— opportunities would arrive, —— might be ready to grasp each as —— came.
20. If every one here would follow the directions that —— (has, have) received, —— would make fewer mistakes in shipments.
21. Any one who wishes may give —— opinion.
22. No one need expect to leave before —— work is finished.
23. Every one in the office took —— vacation early this year except me.
24. Each of the twenty banks sent —— representative to the meeting.
25. On applying for a position, each man is given a blank that —— must fill out carefully, making —— answers as definite as possible.
Some of the following are right, and some are wrong. Correct those that are wrong, explaining why they are wrong.
1. Neither one of them know what they are expected to do.
2. Applicant after applicant handed in their names.
3. If any one has a complaint to make, he should report it in writing to the superintendent.
4. Have either of the stenographers finished their letters?
5. I wish everybody would do their own work and let me do mine.
6. Each man did his work faithfully.
7. Has neither the carpenter nor the plumber yet brought his tools?
8. Every one of the clerks must hand their report to the head bookkeeper before five o’clock.
9. One of them must have neglected to hand in his report.
10. Man after man yesterday promised me that they’d be on hand to work this morning, and not one of them showed themselves.
Exercise 79
In the following exercise, tell which of the italicized pronouns introduce restrictive, and which introduce non-restrictive clauses:
1. This is the best bargain that we have ever offered.
2. This is Mr. Burton, whose work I recommended to you.
3. The city that I enjoyed most was Quebec.
4. I enjoyed walking on the old wall that still surrounds the town.
5. The club to which I belong will hold a meeting next week.
6. The club that I belong to will hold a meeting next Monday.
7. All those whose daily work showed an improvement were given an increase in salary.
8. The horse that ran away belonged to my partner.
9. The greatest man is he who feels himself the least.
10. An old story tells us that when Caesar, who was a great Roman emperor, returned from a conquest which has ever since been famous, he brought back to Rome a formula that has revolutionized the world. It was a formula for making soap, and was considered one of the greatest treasures that was captured during the campaign. Caesar immediately saw the value that it would have in the eyes of the world, and he forced the soap-makers to reveal their secret.
11. The garrison is a handful of invalid soldiers, whose principal duty is to guard some of the outer towers.
12. This is the gentleman whom we met in Boston.
13. Mr. Carter, who was a member of our Boston firm, will take charge of our city sales.
14. We honestly believe that our latest Style Book, which goes with this letter, offers you more for every dollar that you spend than you can get elsewhere.