The Mother Tongue, Book I: Lessons in Speaking, Reading and Writing English · Secs. 275–278 · Part 2: Part Second
78. Verbs: words which assert
Goal: Your child finds the verb, the word that asserts something, in a sentence.
You'll need
- The book, open to this lesson
- Paper and pencil (a notebook kept just for this book works well)
What's in the book
Section 275 shows short sentences (Kings reign. Boys play.) where one word tells, or asserts, something about the subject. Section 276 defines the verb. Section 277 gives selections (Tennyson's brook, proverbs, the Cratchits' Christmas dinner from Dickens) to find verbs in. Section 278 shows verbs that express action, including actions of the mind.
The lesson, step by step
One-word predicates (Section 275)
Read the eight short sentences. Cover the second word of "Kings reign." Ask: Does "Kings" alone say anything? What is missing?
A word which can assert is a Verb.
Find verbs in Section 258
Turn back to the ten sentences in Section 258 (Section 276 asks for this) and find the verb in each.
Dickens's busy kitchen (Section 277)
Read selection 5 aloud: everyone in the Cratchit family is doing something.
Martha dusted the plates.
Your child lists every verb they can find in it.
Actions of the mind (Section 278)
Read Section 278. The book says thinking, judging, loving and fearing are actions too. Ask your child for three verbs for things you do with your mind.
Write
Your child writes six short sentences, three with body actions and three with mind actions, and underlines each verb.
Check it gently
Check each underlined word: can it assert, or tell what the subject does? If your child underlined a noun, ask "Does it tell what someone does?" and let them find the real verb.
What a good result looks like
Example (written for this guide, not from the book):
The squirrel buried an acorn. (body)
My brother ran to the gate. (body)
I wondered about the stars. (mind)
She remembered the answer. (mind)
The verbs are buried, ran, wondered and remembered.
Answers to the book's problems
Section 276 (verbs in Section 258): build, watched, sings, wrote, strikes, comes, flew, swung, streamed, rode. Section 277: 1. slip, slide, gloom, glance, make, dance. 2. ennoble. 3. beholds, looks, considers, weighs. 4. learned. 5. made, mashed, sweetened, dusted, took, set, mounted, crammed, should shriek, came.
Worked out for this site from the scan. If a number in your copy differs, trust the book.