Change of Pronoun. A hasty writer sometimes begins a sentence with a pronoun of one kind, and then uses a pronoun of another kind to represent the same person or thing as the first; or he makes a still more careless change in person or number. I He told me about a man whose name was Hayden and whose place of business was Syracuse. In these scenes, Dickens seems like a bird whose flight is near the earth, but which at intervals rises on its strong pinions and almost reaches heaven. II He told me about a man whose name was Hayden, and his place of business was Syracuse. In these scenes Dickens seems like a bird whose flight is near the earth but at intervals it rises on its strong pinions and almost reaches heaven. In each of the sentences under II, a personal pronoun is coupled with a relative. This practice, though not without authority, should be avoided. I One [or You] shuddered as the dreadful sufferings of the wounded flashed across one [or you]. None feel this more keenly than those who know what it is to enjoy the comforts of home, but who are far away, with nothing but an occasional letter to assure them that the home still exists. After seeing her once, you would not care to see her again. With angular features and faded cheeks, she presents a picture which would pain you. II One shuddered as the dreadful sufferings of the wounded flashed across you. None feel this more keenly than those who know what it is to enjoy the comforts of home, but who are far removed from it, and with nothing but an occasional letter to assure us that the home still exists. After seeing her once, you would not care to see her again. With angular features and faded cheeks, she presents a picture which would pain him. In the first sentence under II, the writer has made an awkward change from the third person to the second, a change which leaves the reader in momentary doubt whether "one" and you refer to the same person or not. A similar obscurity exists in each of the other sentences under II. I When one comes [or When we come] to think of it, the power to express one's [or our] thoughts in language is, perhaps, the most wonderful thing in the world. One [or A man] never needs one's [or his] wit so much as when one [or he] argues with a fool. 66 II When one comes to think of it, the power to express his thoughts in language is perhaps the most wonderful thing in the world. One never needs his wit so much as when he argues with a fool. In sentences like those under II, the change from "one" to his, though less awkward than the changes just noticed (for one " and "his" are both of the third person), is not to be recommended. On the other hand, the frequent repetition of "one" is often awkward, especially in the hands of an unskilful writer. A good way of avoiding the use of too many "one's" is to start with "we," "you,' or "a man," and to keep to forms that accord with the word chosen. With "any one," "every one," "no one," etc., we instinctively couple "his," not one's: e.g. "Any one can keep his face clean," "Every one loves his mother," "With this sauce no one could help eating his fill," "Not one of us but would give his right hand not to have done this thing." The first clause of the sentence under II is in the third person, the second clause in the first person. The insertion of " we " before "the undersigned removes the obscurity caused by the change of person, 10 June Street. MRS.1 BROWN. Mrs. Brown's note should have been written throughout either in the first person or in the third, and not partly in one person and partly in the other. "Punch" ridicules the loose use of pronouns at English universities as follows: First Undergraduate (reading out). Will this do, Gus? "Mr. Smith presents his compliments to Mr. Jones, and finds he has a cap which isn't mine. So, if you have a cap which isn't his, no doubt they are the ones." Second Undergraduate. — Oh, yes; first-rate! Never change from one pronoun to another without a sufficient reason. EXERCISE LI Insert in each blank the proper pronoun; give the reason 2. Every one is as Heaven made 3. Those were most eligible whose toes were lightest and side trappings were brightest. 4. One doesn't, one simply can't if 5. What pleased me most, and tioned, was the beauty of the buildings. ·would, give out mother up. has been most frequently men EXERCISE LII Write each note in correct and clear form : 1. Sir Pitt Crawley begs Miss Sharp and baggidge may be hear on Tuesday, as I leaf for Queen's Crawley tomorrow morning erly.— THACKERAY. 1 See page 41. 2. Mrs. Gann and the Misses Macarty request the honour and pleasure of Mr. Swigby's company (if you have no better engagement) to tea tomorrow evening, at half-past five. — THACKERAY. 3. DEAR SIR: : The writer is desirous of taking a thorough course in rhetoric under the best possible instruction. My preparation for teaching was a high-school training only. May I ask your advice as to where I can obtain what my case requires? Yours very respectfully, JOSHUA ADAMS. Write, as if for insertion in a first-rate newspaper, a short paragraph soliciting a "situation." Write two formal notes in the third person, one asking an acquaintance to dine with you at a certain hour in order that you may consult with him about some matter of importance, the other accepting or declining this invitation. Write a formal note in the third person to some gentleman to whom you have a letter of introduction, asking when it will be convenient for him to see you. Write a notice in the third person offering a reward for the recovery of a lost article. EXERCISE LIII Correct errors in the use of pronouns; give your reason for each correction: 1. I wish you would take a little rest and spare thyself. 2. It is the purpose of the Board to extend this work as rapidly as our facilities will justify. 3. Let every woman voter help the cause by asking the grocers for this article, and ask your friends to do the same. 4. One doesn't know who his friends are. 5. See that man whose hair is gray and his beard black. 6. Every one is one's own master. 7. At first one is likely to wonder where the boats are, since on entering the grove you are able to see only a small cabin. Singular or Plural? The number of a pronoun is determined by the number of the substantive which it represents. I We could wish that the English of these sentences were not so slipshod as it now and then is. II We could wish that the English of these sentences were not so slipshod as they now and then are. In this example, the pronoun in question refers to a singular noun, "English." I Man after man passed out before the pulpit, and laid his hardearned dollars on the table. II Man after man passed out before the pulpit and laid their hardearned dollars on the table. Since the men referred to are thought of one by one, the pronoun should be singular. I "Robinson Crusoe" equalled "Gulliver's Travels" in truthful representation and excelled it in invention. II "Robinson Crusoe" equalled "Gulliver's Travels" in truthful representation and excelled them in invention. It was the book called "Gulliver's Travels," not the separate travels, that "Robinson Crusoe" equalled. I The heroic man or woman acts according to the habit that nature has bred in him or in her. Heroic men and women act according to the habit that nature has bred in them. II The heroic man or woman acts according to the habit that nature has bred in them. Singular substantives connected by "or" or “nor” require a singular pronoun. Sometimes, as in this example, it is better to use the plural number throughout. I If any one will help, he may. rate course for himself. If II any one will help, they may. Each planned to take a sepa rate course for themselves. |