The author of neither of the sentences under II seems to have been able to remember the beginning of a rather short sentence till he reached the end. Avoid as a hindrance any preposition that is not a help to the sense or to the construction. EXERCISE CXLII Strike out any redundant prepositions :— 1. He met a boy of about eighteen years old. 4. No one can help from loving her. 5. A workman fell off of the ladder. 6. On one day I caught five trout, on another day twelve. 9. The spring is near to the house. 10. Bruno followed after his master. 11. I accept your invitation with the greatest of pleasure. 12. He felt that he was justified in taking, with a clear conscience, the repose for which he craved. 13. There is a disposition to-day to dispute the claim put forward on yesterday. 14. Excuse me from accepting of your bounty. 15. Hawthorne's humor irradiates through the story. 16. The time was not to exceed over fifteen minutes. 17. When he returned, he entered into the printing business. Omitted Prepositions. A preposition necessary to the sense, or to the construction, or to both is sometimes omitted. I The Boers protest against confiscation. II The Boers protest confiscation. The Boers might protest their loyalty to Krüger or their willingness to comply with the demands of Great Britain, that is, make a solemn declaration of loyalty or HILL'S RHET. AND COMP.-21 of willingness; but they protest "against" confiscation, — that is, declare opposition to it. I The doctor wanted to be at home for the Thanksgiving din ner. II The doctor wanted to be home for the Thanksgiving dinner. Before "home" the preposition "at" should never be omitted; but the preposition "to" is always omitted unless some word intervenes between "to" and "home : e.g. "I am at home on Tuesdays," "I am going home,” “I am going to my old home." I This must have happened in some other place [or elsewhere]. II This must have happened some other place. Without the preposition, the phrase "some other place is slovenly as well as incorrect. "In" is needed to make the expression the grammatical equivalent of “elsewhere." 1 I She runs as fast as she can, but it's of no use [or useless]. II She runs as fast as she can, but it's no use. The expression "it's no use," though frequent in conversation, should be avoided in serious writing. To give the phrase "no use" the force of an adjective equivalent to "useless," "of " is required by the rules of grammar. I There is no use in saying any. thing to him. II There is no use saying any• thing to him. In this example, "use" is the real subject of " is.” is needed in order to connect "saying" with the first part of the sentence.2 1 See page 257. I Another brief pause was filled by the draining of their cups, and the mustering of breath to join in a shout. The building of the church had been made an excuse for the continued refusal of the license. п Another brief pause was filled by the draining of their cups, and the mustering breath to join in a shout. The building the church had been made an excuse for the continued refusal of the license. "Of" is needed after "mustering" and "building"; for the presence of "the" before these words shows that the noun element in them is so prominent as to keep them from taking direct objects.1 Is it a matter of truth or of Is it a matter of truth or fiction? fiction? “Truth” and "fiction" are not different names for the same thing; they are two things, a fact which the repetition of the preposition makes clear at once. I My judgment is based not so much on what a person says as on the way in which he says it [or on his manner of saying it]. He was fully alive to the advantages of foreign methods, as well as to the necessity of using them. II My judgment is based not so much on what a person says as the way in which he says it. He was fully alive to the advantages of foreign methods, as well as the necessity of using them. Prepositions are needed before "the way" and "the necessity," in order to make the construction of these phrases clear. I She attacked Fred like a wildcat for not writing to you. The "World" telegraphed to its representative at Key West. II She attacked Fred like a wildcat for not writing you. The "World" telegraphed its representative at Key West. 1 See pages 247-248. The omission of "to" in sentences like those under II is stigmatized by the "Spectator" as "an excruciating commercialism." This expression may be too harsh, but it probably points to the origin of the practice. I Some friends gave him to me. II Some friends gave him me. Though "to" may properly be omitted before the indirect object of "give" when that object comes immediately after the verb, it should not be omitted when the indirect object follows the direct. Thus we say, "Give me liberty or give me death," "Some friends gave him to me." In formal writing, do not omit a preposition that is needed to make the meaning clear or the sentence grammatical. EXERCISE CXLIII Supply any prepositions needed to make the meaning clear or the grammatical construction correct : — 1. If you are for peace with honor, write your member of Congress. 2. He had been home a couple of hours. 3. It was no use to think of Mrs. Simmonds. 4. Governor Morton had telegraphed the secretary of war. 5. Modern science points to no name with greater pride than that of the Herschels. 6. Before you go, please pick up that book and give it me. 7. A more careful guarding the prisoners would have prevented this accident. 8. He fled the country, and went to England or France. 9. Ignorance is the mother of fear as well as admiration. 10. This side the mountain the country is thickly settled; the other side there are few inhabitants. 11. Wealth is more conducive to worldliness than piety. 12. There is no use denying that the insurance rate is too high. 13. Some publishers protest the new postal order. 14. She's looking out the window. CHAPTER X CONJUNCTIONS Vulgarisms. Some blunders in the use of conjunctions are, or should be, confined to the illiterate. "I do not know as," "Not as I know," are among the vulgarisms that were once good English. In all such ex-· pressions, "that" long ago took the place of as. I He shouted as men shout in the tumult of a riot. II He shouted like men shout in the tumult of a riot. The use of like for "as" (which comes, perhaps, from the ancient form "like as," -e.g. "Like as a father pitieth his children," 1-a form that still survives, it is said, in some parts of this country) is not uncommon in England and in the southern and western parts of the United States, and is sometimes heard in New England; but it has no support in the practice of the best speakers and writers. Like should never be used to introduce a subordinate clause when the verb of that clause is expressed. When, however, the verb is omitted and the clause is thus reduced to a substantive or a substantive phrase, "like" is correct: e.g. "She sings like a bird." "He talks like the rest of the family." 1 Psalms ciii. 18 |