Omitted Prepositions.-Careless writers omit prepositions that are necessary either to the grammar or to the sense. I. He had been out all day, but he had been at home a couple of hours. II. He had been out all day but he had been home a couple of hours. Before "home" the preposition "at" should never be omitted, but the preposition "to" is always omitted: e. g., "I am going home." 1. Nothing prevented him from lying (or, his lying) still. I now understand that this must have happened in some other place (or, somewhere else). Whatever the subject, it should have unmistakably the air of truth or of fiction. She runs as fast as she can, but it's of no use. The building of the church had been made an excuse for the continued refusal of the license. The last glimpse is cut off by some tall birches that rise at the right, from this side of the lake. II. Nothing prevented him1 lying still. I now understand that this must have happened some other place. Whatever the subject, it should have unmistakably the air of truth or fiction. She runs as fast as she can, but it's no use. The building the church had been made an excuse for the continued refusal of the license. The last glimpse is cut off by some tall birches that rise at the right, from this side the lake. In sentences like the foregoing, the omission of "of" may be excused in conversation; but in serious writing it is not sanctioned by good use. I. He was fully alive to the advantages of foreign methods as well as to the necessity of using them. II. He was fully alive to the advantages of foreign methods as well as the necessity of using them. 1 See page 63. In this sentence as originally written, the omission of the preposition makes the meaning obscure. A hasty reader might suppose that "of" was the word to be supplied. I. Maria wrote to Mrs. Inchbald as follows. II. Maria wrote Mrs. Inchbald as follows. The omission of "to" in sentences like that given in the last example is stigmatized by "The Spectator" as an "excruciating commercialism." This language may be too harsh; but it probably points to the origin of the practice. Beware of omitting a preposition that is needed to make the meaning clear or the sentence grammatical. Redundant Prepositions. Redundancies in the use of prepositions spring from a variety of causes, and occur in various forms. I. Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth met at Mr. Darcy's summer manor, near which Elizabeth was spending a short vacation. No one can help admiring Stella's bright disposition. I went to Chicago and thence to St. Louis. There was not much time to spare. With righteous indignation, he shakes the dust off his feet. Keep off the grass. Next morning the insurgent army began to move. One day Mr. Jones shot some pheasants. II. Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth met at Mr. Darcy's summer manor, near by which Elizabeth was spending a short vacation. No one can help from admiring Stella's bright disposition. I went to Chicago and from thence to St. Louis. There was not much of time to spare. With righteous indignation, he shakes the dust off of his feet. Keep off of the grass. On next morning the insurgent army began to move. On one day Mr. Jones shot some pheasants. We may properly say "on the tenth of December," "on the first day of the week," "on Thursday;" but good use does not sanction on before "next morning" or "one day." Those who remember that "examine" means "test" or "investigate" are not likely to add into. No one speaks of "examining into a student." Chapter VIII. OF CONJUNCTIONS Vulgarisms. Some blunders in the use of conjunctions are, or should be, confined to the illiterate. I. I do not know that either Goldsmith or Sterne can be called a novelist, in the true sense of the word. Then, as all weak-minded persons do (or, like all weak-minded persons), he thought of only the present. II. I do not know as either Goldsmith or Sterne can be called a novelist in the true sense of the word. Then, like all weak-minded persons do, he thought of only the present. The vulgar use of like for "as" comes, perhaps, from the ancient form, "like as": e. g., "Like as a father pitieth his children,❞—an expression which still survives, it is said, in some of the Southern States. Misused Conjunctions. Most errors in the use of conjunctions spring, in part at least, from obscurity or confusion of thought. I. Sometimes these same brave knights are assaulting or defending some picturesque castle. II. Sometimes these same brave knights are assaulting and defending some picturesque castle. It is not probable that "these brave knights" were at the same time "assaulting and defending" a castle. There is no reason why a "pure and good" woman should not also be "thrifty and strong." I. They adopted brief and pointed resolutions. II. They adopted brief but pointed resolutions. Resolutions that are verbose are not "pointed;" those that say much in a few words may be "pointed" as well as "brief." Since, then, there is no antithesis between brevity and point, "and," not but, is the proper conjunction. I. Since, then, there is no antithesis between brevity and point, "and," not "but," is the proper conjunction. II. As, then, there is no antithesis between brevity and point, "and," not "but," is the proper conjunction. As has so many meanings that it is better, when possible, to use a conjunction that covers less ground. |