In all the above examples1 it will be seen that the mistaken arrangements are owing not to the form of what comes between a word and its modifier, but to the fact that a noun or a verb is inadvertently slipped in and becomes capable of stealing the modification. A variety of forms beyond what are indicated above may occur; but most of them are reducible to the above principle.

25. Place, only immediately before its principal.

quently misplaced.

This word is singled out for special mention because there is perhaps no other word in the language so freCapable of being either an adjective or an adverb, it can modify almost any part of speech; so if not placed immediately before the word (or phrase) to which it belongs its force is liable to be stolen by what comes between.

EXAMPLES.

The amendments to the following sentences show that the position of only is corrected by putting it rigorously next before its principal.

The following additional notes about only may be of service in solving problems of arrangement.

1. With nouns or pronouns alone is often preferable to only.

1 The examples here cited are taken, sometimes in slightly modified form, from Longman's School Composition, pp. 138-155, passim.

The first two named of the party only ascended to the summit.

Of the party the first two named alone ascended to the summit.

2. Only may stand at the end of a sentence or clause to limit the whole assertion; but be careful how you tack on anything after it.

"Brown studied books; Smith wrote them only."— The peril of putting anything after only, when the latter modifies something preceding, is seen in the sentence cited just before, where the meaning of only, which ought to be thrown back, may be counted with what comes after.

3. At the beginning of a clause only (succeeded generally by a comma) may be an adversative conjunction nearly like but.

"Come when you please; only, let me know when I may expect you." 1

26. Do not place an adverb between the sign of the infinitive and its verb.

There is an increasing tendency among writers to put an adverb between the preposition to and.the infinitive verb; but do not be misled by the prevalence of the usage. At best it is not yet established; it must be regarded as a vulgarism. Seek some place for the adverb either before or after the infinitive construction; which place it shall occupy has to be determined by considerations of emphasis and smoothness.2

1 The examples under only, also under Rule 26, are taken from Longman's School Composition, pp. 158, 149,

2 The present section gives only such rules for placing modifiers as are concerned with correctness and clearness; placing for the sake of other qualities is referred to the chapter on Special Objects in Style.

ILLUSTRATIONS.

"It is not necessary to accurately define the meaning of everything that is said." Here accurately, being somewhat emphatic, may well go after define, -"to define accurately.' "To really know the man we must go to his books." Here really, not being a very important word, may be put first - Really to know the man," etc.—It is not always so easy to change the position of the adverb so as to make the sentence smooth; but the writer should at all events shun the position between the sign of the infinitive and the verb.

27. Place restrictive phrases where they can work in only one direction.

Certain phrases, like at least, at all events, at any rate, used to restrict or soften the meaning of an assertion, are peculiarly liable to be put between two sentence elements in such a way as to be understood in either direction. Whenever used, such phrases need to be tested for that kind of ambiguity.

EXAMPLES. The following sentence, "The Britons at least fought as bravely as the Romans " may imply (if we count at least with what goes before) that they fought as bravely as the Romans though some other nations did not, or (if we count it with what comes after) that they fought as bravely, though they may not have endured so bravely, as the Romans.

"The traveller saw that these foreigners at all events were as intelligent as their own countrymen." Does this mean foreigners at all events, or were as intelligent at all events?

The same principle applies to any phrase or clause put between two elements that it is equally capable of modifying; it is, in fact, only a particular case under Rule 24, selected for particular mention because modifiers of phrases and clauses are peculiarly liable to misplacement. The same care is needed in the case of such phrases as indeed (which is really a phrase condensed into a word), in truth, to be sure, though these are perhaps not quite so much abused.

28. Balance clauses of the same rank together.

A clause, as we have seen,1 may either be coördinated with another clause, that is, have the same grammatical importance as the other, or it may be dependent on some other clause.2 Coördinate clauses are introduced by such words as and, likewise, but, therefore, accordingly, also by the relative who or which. Dependent clauses are introduced by such words as if, when, while, where, whereas, that; also they may be condensed to a participial phrase, or begin with the restrictive relative that. The test of a coördinate clause is that it makes a complete idea by itself; of a dependent clause, that it looks for support and completion to something else.

The difficulty in balancing clauses of like rank together arises from the fact that the influence of a connective like if or that extends beyond its clause to the next oné, unless arrested; and thus the next clause may inadvertently be made subordinate when the principal rank is intended.

Put the

ILLUSTRATIONS. "The expectations of the parents are disappointed if the children do not work hard and money is wasted." Here the ambiguity is with the last clause; it may be coördinate either with the iƒ-clause before, or with the first assertion. if-clause first "If the children do not work hard, the expectations of the parents are disappointed and money is wasted" — and you balance the two principal assertions together; put the if-clause and the succeeding first- "If the children do not work hard and money is wasted, the expectations of the parents are disappointed”. - and you balance the two dependent clauses together. Another way to

1 See above, p. 51.

2 The last example on p. 51 shows that a clause may be at the same time dependent and coördinate, that is, be one of a series of coördinated dependent clauses, but let the student once get the ability to distinguish infallibly the two kinds, and such cases will present no difficulty.

amend, without changing order, would be to arrest the influence of the if-connective by a connective in the next clause : "The expectations of the parents are disappointed if the children do not work hard, and more than this, money is wasted. — This manner of balancing is employed (“and thus ") to arrest the influence of unless, in the last sentence of the text above. The semicolon also aids materially in the balance.

"He replied that he wished to help them and [that he, or, indeed he] intended to make preparations accordingly." Note the different balancing, according to the the particle used.

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Exercises in placing various Elements. It is neither possible nor desirable to illustrate all the ways in which ambiguity of arrangement may be incurred in a complicated sentence structure. What is of much more importance is, that from such comparatively simple exercises as these the writer's attention be roused to that habit of watchfulness which goes far to make rules superfluous, and without which rules are of little value.

1. Correct the following sentences, referring the corrections to any rules of phraseology hitherto given:

They were at a wretched French cabaret, smelling vilely, where we still remain and the people are very kind.

The captain and the crew had only been there about an hour when three canoes made their appearance.

A few hours later one Nichols assaulted the unfortunate man as well as an accomplice named Tillet,

Louise is a better pianist than either of the three sisters. They gained the reputation of doing whatever they professed to do honestly and effectively.

I would not like to do this, and I shall not do it.