NOTE. These rules apply to the formation of the third person singular of the present indicative active of the verb: as, read, reads; hush, hushes; carry, carries; veto, vetoes. 3. There is no rule for the formation of such irregular plurals as teeth, mice, oxen, men, women, children, deer. 4. Certain nouns ending in ƒ or fe — beef, calf, elf, half, knife, leaf, life, loaf, self, sheaf, shelf, wife, wolf-form the plural by changing for fe into ves: as, calves, knives, loaves, etc. EXERCISE 132. Make a list of the irregular plurals that you are likely to (See also sect. 69.) use. 49. Syllabication. It is difficult to give definite rules for syllabication, but it seems wise to offer certain suggestions and to point out a few possible errors. 1. The division of a word into syllables may be determined to some extent by its etymology; for example, prefixes and suffixes form natural separate syllables: as, ex-tol, lov-ing. The root of the word should be divided into such combinations of consonants and vowels as are easily and naturally pronounced together: as, gondo-la, not go-ndol-a. 2. When there is a doubled consonant, the division usually comes between the two letters: as, drop-ping, rub-bing. 3. A word of one syllable should never be divided. 4. A syllable of one letter should never be separated from the rest of the word: as, a-way. If there is not room for the whole word at the end of a line, the word should be written on the next line. 5. Final le in words like sample, little, and trifle should be joined with the preceding consonant to form the last syllable: as, fid-dle, mid-dle, etc. EXERCISES 133. Give the five suggestions for syllabication and be prepared to illustrate their use at the board. Arrange what you say in two parts: (1) how to divide words; (2) how not to divide words. 134. Write the following words, inserting hyphens between syllables. Be prepared to explain your division into syllables. 135. Separate each of the following words into syllables. If necessary, consult a dictionary. 50. Prefixes and Suffixes. At best the spelling of an English vocabulary is a difficult task. Many words we must learn to spell by "main strength." So many of our terms, however, are made up of simple parts that if we know something about these parts, we shall spell more accurately and misuse words less frequently. In studying the make-up of words it will be helpful to remember that the root of a word is its simplest form. To this simple form a prefix (something placed before) or a suffix (something placed after), or both, may be added. Thus rewritten is made up of the three parts root, prefix, suffix. Write is the root; re, the prefix; and (t)en, the suffix. It should be noted that the prefix modifies the meaning, and the suffix often determines the part of speech. EXERCISES 136. The following words are divided to show prefixes and suffixes. Explain the difference in meaning between the simple forms and the lengthened ones. 137. Make a list of other words having prefixes and suffixes like the above. 138. Copy the following words, and by using as many different prefixes as possible with the same roots, add to the list. The root is set off from the prefix by a hyphen. 139. Copy the following words, and by using as many different suffixes as possible with the same roots, add to the list. The root is separated from the suffix by a hyphen. 140. Make a list of words illustrating all suffixes used in conjugating verbs and in declining nouns and adjectives. 141. The following group of words shows how much can sometimes be done with one root by the help of prefixes and Similarly, see how many forms can be made from the roots of credit, operate, right, equal, part, dentist. Use the dictionary. 142. The following words suggest some of the contrasts in meaning made by the use of prefixes: forenoon, afternoon; export, import; inlet, outlet; except, accept. Mention others. GENERAL EXERCISES 143. Make a list of all the words you have misspelled during the last month. In preparing the list, look up in the dictionary every word about the spelling of which you have any doubt. Each pupil should add to this list the correct form of every word he misspells during the year. 144. Write out carefully ten times every one of the words which you have misspelled; write twenty times every word you have misspelled more than once. 145. (1) Look over all the writing you do before the next recitation, whether it be a letter written at home or a school exercise in history, to see whether your work includes any words which you do not know how to spell. Look up all such words and bring a list of them to the English recitation. (2) Make a list of several common words used in connection with each of your studies. 146. Be prepared to spell, orally or in writing, any word in the first chapter of this book. 147. Write sentences containing the following words. If you wish to exercise your ingenuity, perhaps you can combine the sentences of either I or II in a connected paragraph. 148. Be sure that you can spell all the words in the following lists, and use as many of them as you can conveniently in writing a theme on a subject suggested by one or more of them. 149. Write the names of all the characters in the book now reading in class. 150. Spelling Match. chapter up to this point. preceding exercise. you are Be prepared to spell any word in this |