November 18, 2007

Vernon Scannell has died. Poet, boxer, novelist, soldier, playwright, deserter.
posted by Abiezer_Coppe 16 years ago
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  • Lesson In Grammar THE SENTENCE Vernon Scannell Perhaps I can make it plain by analogy. Imagine a machine, not yet assembled, Each part being quite necessary To the functioning of the whole: if the job is fumbled And a vital piece mislaid The machine is quite valueless, The workers will not be paid. It is just the same when constructing a sentence But here we must be very careful And lay stress on the extreme importance Of defining our terms: nothing is as simple As it seems at first regard. "Sentence" might well mean to you The amorous rope or twelve years" hard. No, by "sentence" we mean, quite simply, words Put together like the parts of a machine. Now remember we must have a verb: verbs Are words of action like Murder, Love, or Sin. But these might be nouns, depending On how you use them – Already the plot is thickening. Except when the mood is imperative; that is to say A command is given like Pray, Repent, or Forgive (Dear me, these lessons get gloomier every day) Except, as I was saying, when the mood is gloomy – I mean imperative We need nouns, or else of course Pronouns; words like Maid, Man, Wedding or Divorce. A sentence must make sense. Sometimes I believe Our lives are ungrammatical. I guess that some of you Have misplaced the direct object: the longer I live The less certain I feel of anything I do. But now I begin To digress. Write down these simple sentences:-- I am sentenced: I love: I murder: I sin. .
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