epends most upon these words.
If I wish to know whether it is George or his brother who
is sick, I speak the words George and brother with more
force than the other words. I say, Is it George or his brother
who is sick?
This greater force with which we speak the words is called
EMPHASIS.
The words upon which emphasis is put, are sometimes
printed in slanting letters, called Italics,* and sometimes in
CAPITALS.
The words printed in Italics in the following questions and
answers, should be read with more force than the other
words, that is, with emphasis.
Did you ride to town yesterday? No, my brother, did.
Did yon ride to town yesterday? No, I walked.

* Italics are also used for other purposes, though most
frequently for emphasis.

THIRD READER. 11

Did you ride to town yesterday? No, I went into the
country.
Did you ride to town yesterday? No, I went the day before.
Have you seen James or John lately? I have seen James,
but not John.
Did you say there were four eggs in the nest, or three?
There were only three eggs, not four.
Were the eggs white or blue? The eggs were white, not
blue.
Had the boy a hat on his head, or a cap? He had a cap on,
not a hat.

PUNCTUATION.

Punctuation should be thoroughly studied by the pupil, in
order that he may become perfectly familiar with the marks
and pauses found in the reading lessons of this volume.

MARKS AND PAUSES.

These marks are used to point off written or printed matter
into sentences and parts of sentences, and thus to assist the
reader in obtaining the meaning of the writer. They seldom
indicate the length of the pause to be made; this must be
determined by the sense.
A Hyphen (-) is used between syllables in a word divided at
the end of a line; as, "be-cause," "ques-tion," and between the
parts of a compound word; as,
Rocking-chair, good-by.

12 ECLECTIC SERIES.

The Comma (,), Semicolon (;), and Colon (:) mark
grammatical divisions in a sentence; as,
God is good; for he gives us all things.
Be wise to-day, my child: 't is madness to defer.

A Period (.) is placed at the end of a sentence; as,
God is love. Life is short.
Or is used after an abbreviation; as,
Dr. Murphy. Jan. 10, 1879.

An Interrogation Point (?) denotes a question; as,
Has he come? Who are you?

An Exclamation Point (!) denotes strong feeling; as,
O Absalom! my son! my son!

The Dash (--) is used where there is a sudden break or
pause in a sentence; as,
The truth ha