Word-Wednesday for November 13, 2019

And here is the Wannaskan Almanac for Word-Wednesday, November 13, 2019, the 46th Wednesday of the year,  the 317th day of the year, with 48 days remaining.


Nordhem Lunch: Hot Ham Sandwich w/Potatoes & Gravy


Earth/Moon Almanac for November 13, 2019
Sunrise: 7:29am; Sunset: 4:47pm; 2 minutes, 49 seconds less daylight today
Moonrise: 5:47pm; Moonset: 8:25am, waning gibbous


Temperature Almanac for November 13, 2019
                Average           Record          Today
High             35                   65                  21
Low              20                 -23                   8


November 13 Celebrations from National Day Calendar

• National Indian Pudding Day
• World Kindness Day
• Name Your PC Day
• National Day of Listening

November 13 Riddle
How many poets does it take to change a lamp wick?*


November 13 Pun
I wanted to be a monk, but I never got the chants.


November 13 Notable Historic Events, Literary or Otherwise, from On This Day

• 1789 Ben Franklin writes, "Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes."
• 1851 Telegraph connection between London-Paris linked.
• 1868 American Philological Association organized in New York.
• 1902 Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is first published in one volume.
• 1933 First modern sit-down strike by Hormel meat packers in Austin, Minnesota.
• 1940 Fantasia by Walt Disney premieres.

November 13 Author/Artist/Character Birthdays, from On This Day

• 1699 Jan Zach, Czech composer.
• 1850 Robert Louis Stevenson.

Words-I-Looked-Up-This-Week Writer's Challenge
Make a single sentence (or poem) from the following words:

• boodwah: fictitious word, the private room of the most beautiful girl in an adolescent male’s fantasy world, where she awaits his arrival to fulfill his every wish, which generally doesn’t take much time to do.
• factotum: an employee who does all kinds of work.
• feculent: of or containing dirt, sediment, or waste matter.
• freemasonry: instinctive sympathy or fellow feeling between people with something in common.
• forenenst: over against; opposite to.
• fusty: smelling stale, damp, or stuffy.
• ha’p’orth: as much as could be bought for a halfpenny.
• plotz: collapse or be beside oneself with frustration, annoyance, or other strong emotion.
• screecham: whiskey.
• vitrine: a glass display case.

November 13, 2019 Word-Wednesday Feature
Grammar Words
Two of Wannaskan Almanac’s female contributors fancy themselves as linguists, inspiring this week’s Word-Wednesday Feature: a quiz for them, and other readers, on grammar words.

Grammar, from Ancient Greek γραμματική: the whole system and structure of a language or of languages in general, usually taken as consisting of syntax and morphology (including inflections) and sometimes also phonology and semantics, which one needs to know in order to competently form sentences in a language.

A list of basic grammar words appears in the list below, followed by a randomized list of alphabetized definitions corresponding to each of the grammar words. Match each grammar word with its definition.

adjective

adverb

antecedent

appositive

auxiliary verb

case

clause

collective noun

complement

compound adjective

compound noun

compound subject

conjunction

conjunctive adverb

count noun

dangler (or dangling modifier)

definite article

direct object

ellipsis (plural: ellipses)

elliptical clause

gender

gerund

imperative mood

indefinite article

indicative mood

indirect object

infinitive

interjection

intransitive verb

linking verb

mood

nominative case

noun

noun phrase

number

object

objective case

participle

person

phrase

predicate

preposition

prepositional phrase

pronoun

relative pronoun

sentence

subject

subject complement

subjunctive mood

transitive verb

verb

verb phrase

Grammar Word Definitions
A. This is a noun or noun phrase that identifies or modifies the noun or pronoun that comes immediately before it—e.g., Chairman Joe, my co-contributor, wanted a Guinness.

B. Requires a direct object to complete its meaning. Some such words may also take an indirect object. The verbs find (e.g., You found your beer), glue (e.g., He glued the parts together), and put (e.g., I put the bottle on the desk) are all examples of such words.

C. A verb form that works with a helping (auxiliary) verb to create compound verb tenses or stands alone as an adjective in one of two forms:

•     past ### often ends in -ed (e.g., burped), but may be formed irregularly (e.g., eaten).
•     present ### ends in -ing (e.g., drinking).

D. Precedes a noun or pronoun to form a phrase that identifies, describes, limits, or qualifies a part of a sentence. Common examples include about, before, except, for, into, near, of, to, underneath, and via. Such a word may follow a verb to form a phrasal verb: e.g., make use of (something), run into (someone).

E. The mood of a verb when its clause makes a command or a request—e.g., Give me that Guinness.

F. Makes a statement about the subject. Such a word consists of the verb and its objects, complements, and modifiers. For example, handed in my application for the job is this kind of word in the sentence, "I handed in my application for the job."

G. Does not express an action. Such a word connects the subject to its subject complement. The verbs be (e.g., Chairman Joe is tipsy), become (e.g., WannaskaWriter became a farm implement driver) and seem (e.g., The customer seems satisfied) are all examples of this kind of verb. Verbs of sensing (look, feel, smell, sound, taste) can also be used as this kind of verb: e.g., This beer smells good.

H. A verb form ending in -ing that acts as a noun. For example, burping acts as a noun in the sentence, "Burping can often occur when drinking Guinness too quickly."

I. Expresses surprise or sudden, strong emotion. Some commonly used examples of this kind of word include: darn; hey, you; oops; rats; uh-uh; and wow. Such words, which is generally followed by an exclamation or a question mark, is often placed at the beginning or the end of a sentence.

J. Names what or whom a sentence is about. This kind of word is always a noun (or noun phrase), a pronoun, or a word or word group acting as a noun (such as a gerund or a noun clause). For example, the pronoun I is this kind of word in the sentence, "I handed in my application for the job." The noun clause Whatever you want to do is this kind of word in the sentence, "Whatever you want to do is fine with me."

K. Consists of two or more parts joined by a conjunction (e.g., Chairman Joe and WannaskaWriter, either you or I). If its parts are joined with and, this kind of word is usually plural, except when the parts form a single unit (e.g., drinking and driving) or refer to the same person or thing (e.g., senior writer and editor). If this kind of word contains or or nor, the verb agrees with the part nearest the verb.

L. Links words, phrases, or clauses in one of three forms:

• coordinating conjunction connects elements of equal rank such as two nouns (e.g., bread and butter), two adjectives (e.g. short and sweet), two clauses (e.g. the party was over, so they went home). And, but, or, nor, for, so, and yet are the coordinating conjunctions.
• correlative conjunction consists of two elements that work together (e.g. either…or, neither…nor, not only…but also).
• subordinating conjunction begins a dependent (or subordinate) clause and joins it to an independent (or main) clause (e.g., WannaskaWriter woke Chairman Joe after he finished the last Guinness). After, although, because, if, when, and while are a few examples of the many subordinating conjunctions.

M. Refers to the classification of nouns and pronouns as masculine (e.g., man, he), feminine (e.g., woman, she) and neuter (e.g., bottle, it). Acceptable queer pronouns can be found here. 

N. Follows a linking verb (e.g., be, become, seem) and completes the meaning of the subject by renaming it (e.g., supervisor in "Jack Pine Savage is my supervisor.") or describing it (e.g., thirsty in "Chairman Joe seems thirsty."). Such a word may be a noun, a pronoun, or an adjective.

O. Expresses an action (burp, drink, tremble, sleep), an occurrence (happen, occur) or a state of being (appear, become, seem). Auxiliary (or helping) verbs are placed in front of a main verb to form a verb phrase. They have several functions; for example, they may help to create a different tense (e.g., will and be in the verb phrase will be going) or add an idea (e.g. the idea of obligation expressed by must in the verb phrase must go).

P. A group of related words that does not have a subject, a predicate, or both. Different types of this kind of word (e.g., noun ###, verb ###, prepositional ###) frequently function as single parts of speech (e.g., noun, verb, adverb). In the sentence, "Chairman Joe and WannaskaWriter were burping in a jovial manner", the prepositional ### in a jovial manner acts as an adverb modifying the verb ### were burping.

Q. Refers to the form of a noun, pronoun, demonstrative adjective, or verb indicating whether it is singular (e.g., beer, it, this, is) or plural (e.g. beers, they, these, are).

R. Precedes a noun and restricts its meaning by referring to a specific thing (e.g., the bottle was empty) or person (e.g., the contributor burped quietly). The word the is the only such word in the English language.

S. The mood of a verb when its clause, which is necessarily dependent, addresses conditions that are contrary to fact—e.g., "If I were good at grammar, I’d be a better writer."

T. Names the person or thing affected by the verb. This kind of word answers the question to whom?, for whom?, to what? or for what? For example, the noun WannaskaWriter is this kind of word in the sentence, "Chairman Joe gave WannaskaWriter a bottle of Guinness." It answers the question, "To whom did Chairman Joe give a bottle of Guinness?"

U. Indicates how a noun or pronoun functions in a sentence. Personal pronouns have three ###s: subject (for a subject or subject complement), object (for the object of a verb or preposition), and possessive. For example, for the pronoun he, he is the subject ###, him is the object ###, and his is the possessive ###. Nouns and indefinite pronouns generally have two ###s: the common ### for both subject and object (e.g. writer, someone) and the possessive (e.g. writer’s, someone’s).

V. Relates a clause to its antecedent. For example, in the sentence, "The book that won the award is non-fiction", the word that introduces the relative clause that won the award and relates it to its antecedent the book. That, which, who, and whoever are all examples of such words.

W. A grammatically incomplete clause because some key words have been omitted, usually to avoid repetition, where the meaning can generally be understood from the context. For example, after reading that WannaskaWriter has five bottles of Guinness; Chairman Joe, three, most people will understand that Chairman Joe has three bottles of Guinness, even though the words has and bottles of Guinness have been omitted from the ###. When an ellipsis is marked by a comma within the second clause, the clauses must be separated by a semicolon, as in the Guinness bottles example.

X. Consists of a noun or pronoun and all of its modifiers, including articles, adjectives, and other nouns (e.g., a shiny new Massey Ferguson, a bottle of Guinness, the emergency room).

Y. Consists of a verb and its auxiliaries. Such a phrase may also act as a predicate. For example, can burp is a ### made up of the verb burp and its auxiliary can. Such a phrase also functions as the predicate in the sentence, "WannaskaWriter can burp."

Z. Does not require a direct object to complete its meaning. Examples of  include growl (e.g., The bear is growling), crash (e.g., My computer crashed) and ring (e.g., The bell rang).

AA. This is an irregular verb that provides information about another verb. The most common examples are to have and to be.

BB. Begins with a preposition; may include articles, adjectives, or adverbs; and ends with a noun or pronoun (or a word or word group acting as a noun). Some examples: for Mr. Hot Coco, between us, in a surprisingly short time, without looking, by whatever means are available.

CC. Refers to the form of a verb or pronoun indicating whether the subject is speaking (first ###—I am, we are), spoken to (second ###—you are) or spoken about (third ###—he, she, or it is; they are).

DD. The unconjugated, uninflected base, or stem form of a verb, often preceded by to. Examples include: to open, to drink, to burp, and to be.

EE. Designates an idea (sobriety), a person (contributor, WannaskaWriter), a place (desk), a thing (pencil), an entity (six pack), a quality (tolerance) or a point in time (dawn).

FF. Joins two clauses together. Some of the most common conjunctive adverbs include consequently, furthermore, hence, however, nevertheless, nonetheless, and therefore. Conjunctive ###s are not strong enough to join two independent clauses without the aid of a semicolon.

GG. Identifies, describes, limits, or qualifies a verb, an adjective, another such word, or a group of words. For example, almost, also, eloquently, not, often, rapidly, really, someday, thus, and very are this kind of word. A favorite of Wannaskan Almanac contributors is ennaways.

HH. A group of words expressing a complete thought and containing at least one independent clause.
II. A modifier, especially at the beginning of a sentence, positioned to modify the wrong word or no word at all—e.g., Leaving home, the weather was nice.

JJ. The quality of a verb that expresses the speaker’s attitude toward the likelihood, existence, or desirability of the verb’s action. English has three: indicative, imperative, and subjunctive.

KK. Generally acts as a substitute for a noun. The words I, you, it, me, them, mine, yours, herself, ourselves, someone, anything, few, each other, who, and which are all examples.

LL. Identifies, describes, limits, or qualifies a noun or pronoun. Awesome, best, both, happy, our, this, three, whose, and crimson are examples of such words.

MM. A noun’s or pronoun’s case when it is the object of a verb, preposition, or infinitive.

NN. Precedes a noun (either a thing or a person) whose specific identity is unknown to the reader (e.g., a contributor, an editor). The words a and an are the only two such words in the English language.

OO. Receives the action of a transitive verb, answering the question what? or whom? after the verb. For example, the noun beer is the ### in the sentence, "Chairman Joe drank his last beer." It answers the question Chairman Joe drank what?

PP. A noun or pronoun that receives the action of a verb.

QQ. Represents a group of people, animals, or objects. ###s are singular in form and take a singular verb when they refer to the group as a single unit. Common collective nouns include audience, gaggle, government, herd, murder, and public.

RR. The omission of a word or words needed to grammatically complete a phrase, clause or expression, where a set of three dots […] indicates an omission.

SS. The mood of a verb when its clause states a fact or opinion or asks a question—e.g., Warm Guinness goes down easy.

TT. This is a noun, noun phrase, or pronoun referred to by a pronoun. Such a word usually comes before the pronoun replacing it. For example, Massey Ferguson is this type of word in the sentence, "I wanted a Massey Ferguson for my birthday, but did not get one."

UU. Combines two or more words that are then used as a single concept in one of three forms:

•    hyphenated compound connects the words with a hyphen (e.g., free-for-all).
•    open compound remains as separate words (e.g., decision making).
•    solid compound fuses the words together (e.g., housekeeper).

VV. A noun’s or pronoun’s case when it is the subject or complement of a verb.

WW. A noun that can be singular or plural.

XX. Consists of a group of related words containing a subject and a predicate. For example, there are two clauses in the sentence, "Although we looked for errors in WannaskaWriter’s post, we found none." Note that Although we looked for errors is a dependent clause (i.e. it cannot stand alone) and we found none is an independent clause (i.e. it can stand alone).

YY. A word or phrase that completes the meaning of a verb. The main types are objects, predicate nouns, and predicate adjectives.

ZZ. a single adjective made up of more than one word (e.g., two-seater aircraft, free-range eggs). The words in a ### adjective are often linked together with a hyphen (or hyphens) to show they are part of the same adjective.

Correct Answers
A: appositive
B: transitive verb
C: participle
D: preposition
E: imperative mood
F: predicate
G: linking verb
H: gerund
I: interjection
J: subject
K: compound subject
L: conjunction
M: gender
N: subject complement
O: verb
P: phrase
Q: number
R: definite article
S: subjective mood
T: indirect object
U: case
V: relative pronoun
W: elliptical clause
X: noun phrase
Y: verb phrase
Z: intransitive verb
AA: auxiliary verb
BB: prepositional phrase
CC: person
DD: infinitive
EE: noun
FF: conjunctive adverb
GG: adverb
HH: sentence
II: dangler
JJ: mood
KK: pronoun
LL: adjective
MM: objective case
NN: indefinite article
OO: direct object
PP: object
QQ: collective noun
RR: ellipsis
SS: indicative mood
TT: antecedent
UU: compound noun
VV: nominative case
WW: count noun
XX: clause
YY: complement
ZZ: compound adjective


From A Year with Rilke, November 13 Entry
Song of the Beggar, from New Poems.

You’ll find me in all weathers beyond the gate,
unsheltered from rain and sun.
Every so often I cradle my right ear
in my right hand.
Then my own voice sounds to me
as no one ever hears it.

Then I can’t tell for certain
who is screaming:
me or someone else.
Poets cry out for more important matters.

At time I even close my eyes
so my face can disappear.
The way it lies with its full weight in my hands,
it is almost like rest.
Then no one will think I lack a place
to lay my head.


Be better than yesterday,
learn a new word today,
try to stay out of trouble - at least until tomorrow,
and write when you have the time.



*Three. One to curse the darkness, one to light a candle, and one to change the wick.