19. She is taller than he [is tall]. 20. He is not so tall as she [is tall]. 21. They will need such men as he [is]. (Not ' him '.) 22. Nobody is at home but I [am at home]. (See § 314.) 23. He received more [votes] than a thousand votes [are]. 24. She accepted no favors, however small [they were]. 25. Why did I stay? [I stayed] Because I was needed. 26. Where did he go? [He went] Wherever he was sent. 27. What are you reading? [I am reading] The Doll in the Pink Silk Dress. 348. Erroneous elliptical sentence. An elliptical sentence is erroneous or faulty if the omitted form of a verb is different from the form used in the sentence, or if the ellipsis causes obscurity: 1. I have been and shall always be sorry. (Do not omit been.) 2. He wishes us to study the same things that he has studied. (Do not omit studied.) 3. The guests were seated, and the dinner was served. (Do not omit was.) 4. One man was killed, and several were hurt. (Do not omit were.) 5. Faulty: He had succeeded, failed, and began again. (Say 'He had succeeded, had failed, and had begun again'; or 'He had succeeded and failed, and had begun again'; or' He had succeeded and failed, and began again'; or 'He succeeded, failed, and began again'.) 349. Misattached clause. A subordinate clause may be elliptical if its subject is the same as the subject of the principal verb (if its subject is not the same, the elliptical clause is faulty, being grammatically attached to the wrong subject): 1. While [she was] sitting at the window, she saw a parade go by. (She was' may be omitted.) While she was sitting at the window, a parade went by. (Do not omit 'she was '.) 2. He died when [he was] a child. (He was' may be omitted.) His grandmother died when he was a child. (Do not omit 'he was '.) 3. Don't [you] eat the cream until it is frozen. (Do not omit ' it is '.) 350. Ellipsis in telegrams. In the expressions thank you and pray (§ 250), and before would in such expressions as would thou wert as I am, the subject (I, we) may be omitted; but the omission of the subject of verbs in general is not proper except in telegrams, where various ellipses are used to save expense; the use or repetition of I or we in letters is easily avoided : 1. [We] Thank you for writing to us. Tell us what to do, pray. 2. Your letter amuses me. (Rather than 'I am amused by', etc.) 3. No apology is necessary. (Rather than 'I do not ask ', etc.) 4. Telegram: Letter received. Starting home immediately. Meet you Friday. Invite friends. (='Your letter has been received. I am starting', etc.) (Exercise XXIX, § 574.) CHAPTER IV RHETORIC: STYLE Do not neglect your style, whatever language you speak in, or whomsoever you speak to, were it your footman. Seek always for the best words and the happiest expressions you can find Do not content yourself with being barely understood; but adorn your thoughts, and dress them as you would your person. LORD CHESTERFIELD. Obscurity and affectation are the two greatest faults of style. MACAULAY. 351. Having something to say. The first essential in speaking or writing is to have something to say. If you are full of your subject, you will usually be able to express yourself. The more clearly you think out what you wish to say, the more clearly you will express it. To write interestingly, you must not only tell the truth, but tell it with a simplicity, directness, and charm that will delight the eye and ear, and captivate the mind and heart. Success or failure lies chiefly in the telling. By persistent study and practice you will form good habits of thinking, and attain effective methods of expression, or good style. 352. Clearness, force, smoothness; unity. The quali ties of good style are clearness, force, and smoothness. These qualities should be found in every sentence. Every sentence should be clear; otherwise the thought is not fully understood. Every sentence should be forcible; otherwise the thought loses a part of its power. Every sentence should be smooth, that it may give pleasure; otherwise the thought may not awaken interest and hold the attention. But underlying the qualities of clearness, force, and smoothness is the fundamental quality of unity, or oneness. Every sentence should have unity; that is, it should contain one thought, and one only, and should present this thought from but one point of view. Without this quality of unity a sentence may fail to be clear, or forcible, or smooth. 353. Unity. We cannot attain unity in expression until we have attained unity in thought; and unless we attain unity in both, we shall never achieve any high measure of success either in speaking or in writing. Unity should extend to all parts of spoken or written matter. For example, the subject of a book should be a unit. Every sentence in the book should be a unit. Every group of sentences, or paragraph, should be a unit. Every chapter should be a unit. The entire book should be a unit. 354. Unity in title. The title David Copperfield, used by Charles Dickens for one of his stories, has unity, since the two words form the name of one person who is the central character in the story. But if the title were David Copperfield and Peggotty, the unity of subject and story would be destroyed; for the interest would be divided, and the story would be more or less unsatisfactory. On the other hand, a compound subject (§ 328) which presents a contrast attracts and holds the attention; for example, Mammon and the Archer, and The Cop and the Anthem, by O. Henry, are good titles. A title should be short, original, interesting, and suggestive. It should not tell too much, but it should not be general or obscure. The following are examples of good titles: Treasure Island (Stevenson), By Courier (O. Henry), The Light that Failed (Kipling), The Mystery of Marie Rogêt (Poe), The Cask of Amontillado (Poe), The Tragedy of a Comic Song (Leonard Merrick). See § 587. NOTE. Do not waste time at the outset by trying to determine the exact form of a title. Let the title develop with the story. See § 359, Outline, note. Use your imagination, and improve it; and when you write fiction, write it so truthfully that it will sound like history. 355. Unity in sentence. Every sentence should contain but one thought, and should present that thought from but one point of view. Test unity by the following outline: A. Unity in thought. 1. More than one thought; incorrect use of and. a. If the sentence consists of a long series of related 2. Less than one thought. (Exercise XXXII, § 577.) B. Unity in point of view. (Exercise XXXIII, § 578.) |